U.S. carbon rules could force a "default to nuclear"
14 November 2006 -- Jim Rogers, president and CEO of Duke Energy, told a meeting at the GE Global Research Center in Niskayuna, New York on Monday, that it is "inevitable" that the United States will have carbon regulation, probably by 2012. He said that unless existing coal-fired power plants are protected from those rules through "grandfathering," or unless they can adopt carbon sequestration technology, then his position would be to "default to nuclear" generation.
"Unless you have carbon sequestration you would probably default to nuclear because you know it works" as a carbon-free source of electric generation, he said.
Rogers made the comments as part of a panel at an energy technology briefing held by GE.
He said no "silver bullet" exists in considering best generation technology. Instead, Duke Energy plans to consider a range of technologies to meet growing demand for electricity. That would include coal, integrated gasification combined cycle, nuclear, renewables and energy efficiency, which he called the "fifth fuel."
"We need to create an environment to push them all forward," he said.
Turning to carbon sequestration, he said that federal legislation seems likely between 2009 to 2010, with implementation likely by 2012. That date corresponds with the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol. He said he expects the first new nuclear power plant to come online between 2015 and 2016. Duke Energy has proposed building a nuclear plant in North Carolina.
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