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Sierra Club Celebrates Dominion Decision to Phase out Two Virginia Coal Plants
Case Updates:
September 1, 2011
On September 1, Dominion Resources Inc., the Commonwealth of Virginia's largest utility, announced that it will phase out two of its oldest and dirtiest coal-fired power plants. The Chesapeake and Yorktown plants, situated in coastal Virginia, will end operations by 2016 and 2015 respectively. This announcement comes just days after GenOn Energy, Inc. announced that it had decided to phase out the Potomac Generating Station, an aging coal-fired power plant in northern Virginia.
Chesapeake and Yorktown are two of the worst polluters in the region, with Chesapeake alone pumping out more than 3 million tons of carbon pollution every year. The two plants are also responsible for tens of thousands of tons of soot and smog pollution each year. This pollution generates a deadly haze which can trigger asthma attacks, respiratory illnesses, and can contribute to heart disease, cancers and other ailments. Nationally, pollution from coal-fired power plants is responsible for billions of dollars in health costs and lost work and school days annually.
Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign has been actively engaged in Virginia since 2003 with support for retiring these plants going back even further. The Chesapeake and Yorktown plants are the country's 96th and 97th plants to announce retirement since January of 2010. Recently the Sierra Club joined forces with Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City, and his Bloomberg Philanthropies to combat the dangerous health effects that coal-fired power has on children and families across the nation. The announcement of a $50 million dollar gift to roll back the threat of coal-fired pollution was held just outside the now-retiring plant in Alexandria.
Details and Documents:
Sierra Club Celebrates Dominion Decision to Phase out Two Virginia Coal Plants
September 1, 2011, Sierra Club Press Release
News Articles:
Dominion plans to shutter Yorktown and Chesapeake power plants between 2015 and 2022
September 1, 2011 by Peter Frost, dailypress.com
Dominion plans to shutter Chesapeake plant by 2016
September 2, 2011 by Carolyn Shapiro, The Virginia-Pilot
More Info:
See other "Retiring Old Coal" cases.