Sixteen Greenpeace activists were arrested Monday after some scaled a smokestack at Progress Energy's coal-fired Asheville plant and unfurled a banner protesting the proposed Duke Energy-Progress merger.
Keiller MacDuff, a spokeswoman for the group, said climbers reached the top of the stack, which she said is 400 feet high. They unfurled a banner: "Duke Energy: the climate needs real Progress."
The action is part of a Greenpeace campaign targeting Charlotte-based Duke and Raleigh-based Progress, whose merger has been delayed by federal regulators. Greenpeace wants the companies to stop using coal mined through mountaintop removal, invest in renewable energy and phase out coal by 2030.
MacDuff said five climbers and 11 activists on the ground were arrested. The last was escorted off the smokestack just after 3 p.m., Progress spokesman Mike Hughes said by email.
It wasn't clear how the activists gained access to the plant, which is actually a few miles south of Asheville. MacDuff would not reveal how the activists gained entry but said they encountered no security on the ground to stop them.
"We'll be evaluating the incident and working with law enforcement to discern how they gained access and what we need to do to enhance the site security," Hughes said. "This is a vital facility for meeting the needs of our western N.C. customers," which include about 160,000 households and businesses.
