Our Campaign

Our Campaign

Our Campaign

Across America, the Beyond Coal campaign is replacing coal and gas with clean energy. We’re mobilizing grassroots activists to advocate for meaningful energy changes in their communities, including retiring coal plants, preventing new fossil fuel plants from being built, and working to stop the expansion of fracked gas.


Our Goals

Close All Coal Plants in the US

We are in the midst of an historic transition: we are working toward a future where all communities use clean energy to drive American prosperity.

Stop New Gas Power Plants

We are working to stop the expansion of fracked gas power plants and to ultimately phase out this polluting and dangerous fossil fuel.

Replace dirty coal and fracked gas with clean solutions that restore frontline communities

Clean energy technologies are driving a new era of job creation and American prosperity that works for everyone. A sustainable, just transition to 100% clean, renewable energy is possible.

What We Are Doing

Rally at the Idaho State Capitol to celebrate historic funding for Idaho clean energy initiatives.

We engage over a million members and supporters to intervene in public utility dockets, in litigation, and before state and federal agencies to advocate for clean energy. We build broad, inclusive coalitions that bring together local consumer advocates, labor organizations, large energy consumer groups, clean energy advocates, and environmental justice leaders. By mobilizing our members, deepening grassroots leadership, and winning local victories, we are building power for long-term, durable climate and justice wins.

We’ve helped achieve retirement commitments for over 70 percent of coal plants since 2010, including 24 of the 25 plants identified by the NAACP as the most harmful to environmental justice communities. See where coal plants are still impacting your community.

Since 2020, our efforts to halt the construction of new gas plants have led to the defeat of more than 75 GW of new gas capacity. See where new gas plants, pipelines and export terminals are being planned in your community." to "Since 2020, our efforts to halt the construction of new gas plants have led to the defeat of more than 90 GW of new gas capacity. See where new gas plants are being planned in your community.

Coal Plant Retirements in Progress

DIRTY POWER PLANTS RETIRED
The plants counted here are "planned retirements" plants that have retired or proposed to retire with a specific retirement date.
390 down
140 to go
DIRTY UNITS RETIRED
Each coal-burning plant is made up of a specific number of units. Since not all coal plants are the same size, the number tracked here shows the total number of coal units in the U.S. that have been announced for retirement.
1008 down
272 to go
DIRTY MEGAWATTS RETIRED
The average polluting coal power plant is 840MW, which supplies dirty power to over 400,000 homes per year.
233,108 down
118,326 to go
CLEAN ENERGY MEGAWATTS INSTALLED
As old coal plants retire, we're working to make sure that clean energy like wind and solar will step in to replace them, providing many new jobs for American workers.
169,580 installed
331,896 to go

Why It Matters

The United States was the world's largest source of carbon emissions for more than a century. Although our emissions from electricity have dropped significantly, they still eclipse the entire emissions from almost every other country on earth. Any path to address climate change needs to include an electric grid free of fossil fuels.

With or without subsidies, solar and wind are the most cost-effective form of energy today. More than ever, utilities that are still reliant on fossil fuels like coal and gas will drive up utility bills for their customers. But these utilities don’t make the switch to clean energy based on economics alone - citizen advocacy is one of the most impactful ways to hold them accountable!

Defeated or Delayed Gas Infrastructure

Since the start of 2020
Dirty Gas Plant Capacity Defeated
 
90,830 MW
 
From delayed or defeated
Pipelines
Estimated Avoided Emissions
652 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent
Equivalent to the annual emissions from 152 million gasoline-powered cars*
Avoided Pipeline
1,248 miles
This is the distance from New York City all the way to Kansas City.
Avoided Capacity
17 BCF/day
 
*Avoided emissions are the emissions that the extraction, processing and transportation, and use of the gas would create (i.e., full gas cycle emissions of the gas the pipelines would transport). Includes methane and carbon emissions.

Victory!

Sierra Club has worked to retire coal plants all over the country and move our energy systems towards more renewable sources. To date, nearly two-thirds of plants online in 2009 have retired or committed to retiring. Of the 25 plants the NAACP identified as being most harmful to black and brown communities, 24 have retired or announced their retirement before 2030. Studies suggest the pollution reduction from these closed plants has prevented over 55,000 premature deaths, 85,000 heart attacks, and 900,000 asthma attacks.

American storytellers talk about climate change, clean energy, and fighting dirty coal.

The Land I Trust: Stories From Activists

The Land I Trust is an audio series by the Sierra Club that brings powerful stories about special places into your home. We travel throughout the United States, to discuss clean energy solutions and moving beyond coal with locals.

Listen