2008.10.24 Press Release
Power Companies Agree to Invest in Green Energy, Clean Up Pollution
Contact: Nachy Kanfer, 614-625-3894
Health advocates, environmentalists applaud Sierra Club settlement with three Ohio utilities
Columbus, OH - The nation's largest grassroots environmental group finalized a landmark settlement today with the owners of the Stuart coal-fired power plant in southwestern Ohio, forcing the companies to acquire renewable energy, invest in energy efficiency, and consistently achieve lower emission levels of air pollution. Sierra Club targeted Stuart in 2004 for repeatedly failing to comply with clean air standards.
"We're very pleased that the Stuart coal-fired power plant will be reducing tons of soot, smog and mercury," said Marilyn Wall, a member of the Sierra Club Board of Directors and an Ohio resident. "Mercury from power plants like Stuart increases the risk to children for damage to their nervous and digestive systems, which can result in delayed onset of walking and talking, cerebral palsy and mental retardation."
Stuart Station is the largest single emitter of particulate matter in the state, and the Clean Air Task Force estimates that Stuart alone emits enough pollution to cause 296 deaths every year. The American Lung Association of Ohio joined environmentalists in celebrating the reduction in particulate matter, or soot, that the cleanup would bring and the benefit it would have on the health of Ohioans.
"The people of Ohio will breathe easier with the cleanup of the Stuart plant," said Shelly Kiser, Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association of Ohio. "The particle pollution from Stuart Station caused real suffering-asthma attacks, wheezing, heart attacks, strokes, and even premature deaths. This change is long overdue."
The settlement requires Stuart to reduce its emissions of dangerous air pollutants like nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulates, which will have the co-benefit of reducing mercury. Two co-owners of the plant - Duke Energy and AEP subsidiary Columbus Southern Power - will also have to acquire 100 megawatts of renewable energy. The third owner, Dayton Power & Light (DP&L), will be required to use energy efficiency to reduce electric demand by 120 gigawatt-hours per year. All three owners will jointly pay for a rebate program, administered by Green Energy Ohio, for consumers to buy solar hot water heaters. These additional requirements are expected to help create clean energy jobs for Ohioans.
"In these uncertain economic times, this is great news for Ohio," said Nachy Kanfer, Ohio representative for Sierra Club's National Coal Campaign. "As the rest of the nation moves away from fossil fuels, Ohio can compete only by replacing our dwindling coal jobs with jobs in growth sectors like energy efficiency and clean energy. This settlement makes sure we continue to invest in 'green-collar' jobs in Ohio."
Stuart is located next to the Ohio River on the border of Adams and Brown counties. Sierra Club's battle to clean up Stuart began when the Bush administration EPA declined to pursue notices of violation issued under the Clinton administration. The plant had repeatedly refused to abide by Clean Air Act regulations, and had illegally modified its facilities without installing modern pollution-control equipment.
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Contact: Nachy Kanfer, 614-625-3894