Duke’s big pledge to OC land conservation

Officially, so far, an announcement yesterday by a Duke Energy official to grant hundreds of thousands of dollars to Oconee’s financially-bereft conservation board amounts to no more than a pledge that is dependent on what happens at the end of a long, complex process. Nevertheless, Shea Airey said today, “We’re very happy.” The attorney and chairman of Oconee County’s new conservation bank board spoke upbeat about the expectation that Duke Energy will eventually contribute $600 thousand to the bank board’s efforts to protect private property through conservation. The pledge depends, however, on Duke being able to successfully apply for a new license to operate its Keowee-Toxaway project. It’s dependent on whether the feds agree to re-license the project three years from now, in 2016.