Duke Energy CEO keeps pushing climate legislation

A key player in passing comprehensive climate legislation may be an unlikely source: Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers. Duke "supplies 35,000 megawatts of power to consumers in the Southeast and Midwest, most of it through coal or nuclear, making him one of the biggest carbon emitters in the country," Bryan Walsh of Time reports. "Yet it was Rogers who emerged as a key corporate player in the attempt to build a grand alliance for a carbon-cap-and-trade bill between 2008 and 2010." The push for climate legislation failed last year, but Rogers, right, says it is still needed to fix the uncertainty currently surrounding environmental regulation. (Getty Images photo by Jeffrey Camarati)

"In the 20th century, the goal was universal access to electricity," Rogers told Walsh. "In the 21st century it will be about modernization, and by 2050 all our existing plants but hydro" may be closed down or changed because of environmental regulations. Some lawmakers are hoping to block the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing controls over greenhouse-gas emissions, but no matter what happens on that front, "gradual tightening by the EPA of existing rules on pollutants like sulfur and nitrous oxide will force tough choices on utilities," Walsh writes.

"There's over 300,000 megawatts of electricity in existing coal plants, about 50 percent of what the U.S. produces," says Rogers. "Up to one-third of them are over 40 years old, and depending on how the regulations play out, anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 megawatts could be shut down." In the absence of carbon legislation, Rogers says lawmakers should put more money toward research into making renewable fuel services more competitive. "Think about how much it would change the debate if solar and wind were as cheap as coal," he said. (Read more)