MUSCATINE POWER & WATER SHOULD USE A BALANCED APPROACH TO REPLACING COAL

By Katie Rock, Campaign Representative for Sierra Club Iowa Beyond Coal

Muscatine Power and Water is over 18 months into its plan to transition away from coal generation, a process that will take years. The public only became aware of this when the utility shared highlights from a consultant study looking into replacement options for its power supply, including 30 MW of solar. The next phase, which will play out this summer, is whether to build a big new combined cycle “natural” gas power plant by 2028.

While the new solar is a welcome move, Muscatine residents should have concerns with MPW’s next decision. MPW has not been transparent about its power supply study. Its first and only public hearing on this planning process happened Wednesday, May 19, 2021. During COVID-19, the MPW board first held meetings virtually then shifted to in-person meetings limiting safe access for those wanting to comment and listen.

The power supply study did not include wind, distributed energy systems like rooftop solar, energy efficiency, or demand side management tools like smart meters. Choosing an expensive new gas plant today, years ahead of installation, is a risky decision. In Iowa we have seen old coal plants shift to gas only to be demolished ahead of schedule. Sierra Club’s own analysis for Muscatine shows a 120 MW or smaller gas plant built in 2028 would be a financial liability in two years, leaving Muscatine customers on the hook.

“Natural” gas is an industry term coined to greenwash a fossil fuel that is fracked from wells with dire environmental and health consequences. Fracking exposes communities and industry workers to hazardous pollutants with serious health risks like lung inflammation, asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes, preterm delivery and low birth weight, cancer and early death. Fracking gas generates high rates of methane emissions, a greenhouse gas over 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. When methane emissions from leaky, fracking wells, pipelines, and storage facilities are included, gas power is as bad as coal for our planet. And that does not even include the contamination and depletion of our water supply from fracking.

MPW has made clear it is focused on local control and economic impact, but its top concern is skewed towards meeting industrial demand paid by all customers. An expensive gas plant built for the needs of industrial customers will put all customers on the hook, locking in rate increases for a decade.

MPW should balance the needs of its customers and its role as a public power provider by investing in solar and energy efficiency in this transition. A recent report found that rooftop solar provides 30 times more jobs than utility scale solar projects.[1]  For many solar and energy efficiency projects the savings are often underestimated. Investing in these energy projects helps build the local economy and brings real savings to customers, during a time when that is especially critical.

Muscatine has a legacy of air pollution. The area is known more for having the worst air quality in the state than for its natural beauty. Coal ash contamination from MPW’s plant is leaking into groundwater near the facility. This plant is closing for a reason.

Investing in the cleanest energy mix possible is a life or death issue for those facing asthma and other health impacts in the community, and for those already struggling to make bill payments. MPW must do more to engage the community in building homegrown energy for its customers in a balanced approach with its industrial customers. One hearing is not enough. Muscatine deserves a real voice and a balanced approach to invest in its local economy.

[1] John Farrell, “30 Times More Jobs from Rooftop Solar, Utility Filing Says”, Institute For Local Self-Reliance, April 30, 2021.  See https://ilsr.org/30-times-more-jobs-from-rooftop-solar-utility-filing-says/?utm_source=Energy+Self-Reliant+States&utm_campaign=9128eaa5b8-Energy_Self_Reliant_States_1_12_151_8_2015_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_86e661ed1e-9128eaa5b8-82702861