2010.05.18 Press Release
Ohio Municipial Utility Announces Further Shift Away From Coal
Contact: Nachy Kanfer, 614-625-3894 (cell)
With Gorsuch closure, clean energy will form vast majority of AMP portfolio in Ohio.
Columbus, OH: Today, the United States Department of Justice announced a settlement with American Municipal Power that will clean Ohio's air, reduce global warming pollution, and prevent destructive coal mining by shutting down AMP's last coal plant in Ohio by 2012: the Richard Gorsuch Station, located near Marietta. AMP will also pay a small penalty for past violations of the Clean Air Act and spend $15 million on an energy efficiency program that will further reduce polluting emissions and save consumers money.
The announcement marks a dramatic shift from just six months ago, when AMP still vigorously defended a now-defunct proposal to build a giant new coal plant in southeast Ohio. Since then, AMP has canceled plans to further invest in coal, making today's announcement part of a trend in divesting entirely from coal in Ohio. This action further transforms AMP, which will now generate the bulk of their electricity in Ohio through wind and low-impact hydropower - though the company does still own a large stake in a coal plant under construction in Illinois as well as some small diesel and gas generators owned in partnership with municipalities.
In response to AMP's announcement, Sierra Club and NRDC released the following statements:
"We congratulate AMP and its member municipalities for its further shift away from dirty and expensive forms of energy such as coal. We have seen the true cost of dirty energy, from the BP disaster that is pummeling our Gulf Coast to the recent coal mining tragedies in Kentucky and West Virginia. Closing the Gorsuch plant means AMP's ratepayers can avoid the cost of coal and we can all breathe a little easier."
-- Nachy Kanfer, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign representative in Ohio
"The Gorsuch Plant should have been shuttered decades ago. This is the second time in the past six months that AMP has made decisions acknowledging that coal is simply not economically viable. It is more proof that Ohio needs to focus on a clean energy future."
-- Shannon Fisk, attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council
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Contact: Nachy Kanfer, 614-625-3894 (cell)