October 13, 2017: Luminant Energy’s announcement to close two of the nation’s largest and dirtiest coal plants in Central Texas means that more than half of the coal plants in America have retired or committed to retire since 2010.
This watershed moment in clean air and water advocacy across the country is also a milestone for public health. Since 2010, coal retirements secured by the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign and over a hundred allied organizations have prevented 7,029 premature deaths, 10,906 heart attacks and 116,043 asthma attacks every year, according to the Clean Air Task Force. Luminant announced this morning that it would close its two-unit Sandow Power Plant in Milam County, Texas, and its two-unit Big Brown Power Plant in Freestone County, Texas. These power plants are some of the most polluting in the country - for example, Big Brown is one of the nation’s top 5 mercury polluters.
Read the full press release here.