It may not be time yet to break out the champagne over Duke Energy’s decision to consider alternatives to its despised power line. On second thought, pop those corks to celebrate the might of the opposition in Henderson County.
The nation’s largest utility announced Thursday it would consider alternatives to building a 45-mile transmission line across the county to connect a new natural gas plant at Asheville with a substation in Campobello, S.C. The deadline for an announcement was moved to November to give Duke more time to “carefully consider more than 9,000 comments received on the proposed transmission line and create a solution to deliver cleaner, reliable power to the Western Carolinas,” officials said.
Nobody at Duke could have foreseen the magnitude of opposition back in May when it announced plans to shut down its coal-fired plant at Lake Julian, replace it with a natural gas plant and connect it to South Carolina via the line. Opposition groups formed across the region and signs sprouted from Mills River to Edneyville declaring, “No Duke Power Lines Here!”
Duke deserves credit for taking the time to thoroughly review those 9,000-plus comments, most of which oppose the line as an eyesore that will hurt our region’s economy and quality of life. Even more so, the utility won applause with this statement:
“The company is looking at all options that can meet the region’s power demand over the next 10 to 15 years — including possible alternatives to the transmission line, Campobello substation and the configuration of the proposed Asheville natural gas power plant.”
After months of failed PR work to sell the transmission line to a wary public, Duke also acknowledged the ferocity of public opposition.
“Concerns about the transmission line and substation — and the potential impact on tourism and mountain views we all enjoy — are significant,” said Robert Sipes, general manager of delivery operations for the Western Carolinas.
Environmental organizations applauded Duke’s announcement. “This would not have happened without the thousands of citizens and many organizations that made clear our states do not need a massive new 45-mile-long power line, a huge new substation and an expensive oversized gas plant,” said Frank Holleman, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center.
Another piece of good news tucked into Thursday’s announcement: Duke still plans to scrap the coal-burning power plant that has polluted air and water and spewed mountains of coal ash waste for more than half a century.
Henderson County is a place where natives are born and retirees and industries move, loving our high quality of life and scenic mountain views. Over the years, residents have fought off perceived threats (incinerators, racetracks, a biker party and five-lane highway) and lost battles on others, such as the asphalt plant at Grimesdale. The power line marks the rare instance in which almost the entire county is united in opposition.
We will have to wait to see what Duke announces next month, but this battle shows the power of a united front.
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