Power Demand Surge Is Complicating Carbon Goals, Duke CEO Says
(Bloomberg) -- The enormous increase in electricity demand driven by manufacturing and artificial intelligence complicates utility Duke Energy Corp.’s goals to cut carbon emissions, Chief Executive Officer Lynn Good said Tuesday.
Most Read from Bloomberg
US Yields Spike as Hawkish Powell Puts 5% in Play: Markets Wrap
China Tells Iran Cooperation Will Last After Attack on Israel
Beyond the Ivies: Surprise Winners in the List of Colleges With the Highest ROI
IMF Steps Up Its Warning to US Over Spending and Ballooning Debt
What If Fed Rate Hikes Are Actually Sparking US Economic Boom?
Duke, which serves parts of the US Southeast and Midwest, has set a goal to close all its coal-fired power plants by 2035 and to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“That plan is being challenged by all of the growth” in power consumption, Good said onstage at the Columbia Global Energy Summit in New York. “These are all dynamics that we are wrestling with.”
Electric utilities and regulators have been caught off guard by the biggest demand jump in a generation. In order to handle the surge, some power companies have delayed the shutdown of plants that burn fossil fuels and others have petitioned regulators for permission to build new gas-fired generation.
Read more: AI Needs So Much Power That Old Coal Plants Are Sticking Around
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
A Resilient Global Economy Masks Growing Debt and Inequality
Cities Use AI to Help Ambulances and Firetrucks Arrive Faster
The Shadow Swiftie Economy Booms With Bootleg Bracelets and $1,150 Bodysuits
Top Takeaways From Businessweek’s Investigation of Teenage Sextortion
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.