Progress Energy has issued a report on global warming in response to a group of environmentally conscious shareholders. While environmentalists want the company to increase reliance on solar, wind and other renewables, the company says it has a number of alternative energy programs in place or under consideration to shake its dependency on coal and other fossil fuels. Among them:

Hydroelectric plants -- four in North Carolina: on the Pee Dee, French Broad and Pigeon rivers, constructed between 1910 and 1930.

NC GreenPower -- Progress Energy helps market this state program and collects contributions from customers to subsidize solar power projects and other renewables.

Biomass co-firing -- on track to test mixing wood chips with coal at the Sutton Plant in Wilmington.

Fuel cells -- committed $1 million last year to Microcell, a Raleigh company developing fuel cells.

Landfill gas -- agreed to buy 14 mega-watts of electricity from burning methane gas in Florida; producing 1 megawatt from methane near Asheville.

E-grass -- in talks to buy 120 mega-watts of power from a facility in Florida that burns a liquid fuel extracted from field reeds that resemble bamboo.