North Carolina electricity regulators have dismissed a bid to stop a $1 billion natural gas power plant because opponents didn’t post a nearly $100 million guarantee to cover costs of construction delays, the Associated Press reports.
The North Carolina Utilities Commission on Aug. 2 dismissed an appeal by the advocacy groups NC WARN and the Climate Times.
The commission in March approved the Asheville power plant to replace a coal-burning Duke Energy Corp. plant.
Regulators told the groups to post a $98 million bond to appeal the decision, estimating the resulting construction delay would raise costs by that amount. The groups didn’t post the bond.
Durham-based NC WARN called the high bond a way to thwart reconsideration of a power plant that ties consumers to fossil-fueled power for decades instead of shifting to renewables.
Image from Duke Energy website.