Duke Energy CEO says Michigan's rush to manufacture 'green' products is another race with China
The head of one of the nation’s largest electric utilities suggested Friday that states like Michigan that want to build green-energy economies face tall odds as China races ahead on developing and using renewable energy.
James Rogers, the chairman, CEO and president of Duke Energy Corp. [NYSE:DUK], said during an appearance at the University of Michigan that China was “far ahead” of the U.S. in manufacturing and utilizing solar panels and wind turbines.
At the same time, renewable energy manufacturers face a bloated inventory of both solar panels and wind turbines, Rogers told reporters following remarks at the Ross Energy Club’s carbon symposium at the Michigan Union.
“It’s two points: the glut (of inventory) today, and the fact that they are putting significant money in the development of manufacturing facilities in China, and they’re doing it on China time,” Rogers told reporters.
Where the U.S. could have an advantage, Rogers said, is in the ability of researchers and universities to develop more efficient technologies.
“The way we get ahead is not deploying existing technology with existing efficiencies, we get ahead by creating more efficient solar panels, new ways to do it,” he said.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy provides electricity to customers to 11 million customers in five states, not including Michigan. Rogers, who said he mostly supports carbon cap-and-trade legislation currently before Congress, acknowledged the utility was also one of the world’s top emitters of CO2 at more than 100 million tons annually.
The utility  is installing 500 megawatts of wind energy capacity and expects to have nearly 1,000 megawatts installed by year’s end.
It’s also building two coal plants in the U.S., including a $2 billion, 630-megawatt coal gasification plant in Edwardsport, Ind., where it plans a pilot project to study underground storage of carbon emissions from the plant.
Rogers said he worries that China will scale and deploy carbon-capture technology faster than the U.S. Â because of regulatory and other issues. That’s made it difficult to make decisions about shutting down older coal plants and replacing them with newer, cleaner facilities.
“If we don’t put money in R&D, if we don’t start to scale and deploy (carbon capture and storage), because the conventional wisdom is it’s 10 to 15 years out, well I’ve got to make decisions about shutting down old coal plants, and building new coal plants,” he said. “I’d like to make the decision knowing that the technology is going to be available.”
Rogers said the U.S. enjoys a competitive advantage in being the world’s largest producer of nuclear energy, and he argued that greater investments in the field could help rebuild the nation’s middle class and build an industrial supply chain for components.
He also urged that the best way to broaden access to electricity to the 1.6 billion people globally without it was to encourage energy efficiency measures in the U.S.
Duke Energy has been working with Chinese and French companies to develop new energy technologies, and Rogers said the utility next week expects to announce a major new memorandum of understanding to work with a major Chinese solar panel producer.
More government backing of global joint ventures to advance technologies should be coupled with carbon cap and trade laws to help reduce worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, Rogers said.
• Contact freelancer Sven Gustafson by email.
Comments
anon505
Fri, Sep 18, 2009 : 8:39 p.m.
Dr. James Hansen, one of the foremost experts on global warming, has explained how cap-and-trade will be an ineffectual shell game for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Hansen and other leaders in the clean energy field are calling for a simpler carbon tax which will be ultimately much less costly for energy consumers and taxpayers and significantly more effective for reducing greenhouse gases and promoting green energy technology. If you look at the Duke Energy website, you will find that they currently have NO solar or wind power generation. Rogers says that America needs to develop new technology, yet he only talks about his involvement with China and France. Rogers is promoting "clean coal," nuclear, carbon offsets, and cap-and-trade - all of which have very questionable green credentials. A carbon tax will be more costly for most energy producers which is why Rogers is promoting the ineffective (and expensive for consumers and taxpayers) cap-and-trade. America does need to develop and invest in green energy technology. And America needs to be very critical of CEOs who are paid tens of millions of dollars to advocate and burn dirty coal.