New Sierra Club video warns of the devastating consequences of massive fossil fuels expansion at Big Bend

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Melissa Williams, melissa.williams@sierraclub.org

TAMPA, Fla. — Sierra Club today released a new video highlighting the dangers and hypocrisy behind Tampa Electric Company’s plan for the biggest fossil fuel expansion in the history of Hillsborough County.

The animated piece, produced by Transit Pictures, is part of Sierra Club’s  #TellTheTruthTECO campaign to hold TECO accountable for doubling down on climate-disrupting fossil fuels like coal and fracked gas, even though Tampa tops the list of U.S. cities most vulnerable to climate change.

The new video shows how TECO plans to build a 20-foot high sea wall and elevate parts of their Tampa-area power plants by 14 feet to try to protect it from rising seas, while simultaneously expanding the use of the fossil fuels that actually cause climate change and sea level rise.

TECO wants to spend nearly $1 billion on this project, but hasn’t proposed any measures to protect the surrounding community in the same way they want to try to protect their own facilities.

The new video shows how nearby communities and local landmarks—such as MacDill Air Force Base, the University of South Florida, St. Pete, and the Tampa airport—would be overcome by rising waters in a warming climate, as the Big Bend plant, a massive climate polluter, sits at a higher, constructed elevation.

In response, Susannah Randolph, senior representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign in Florida, released the following statement:

“TECO hasn’t told the truth about this ill-conceived and reckless plan from day one. This so-called Big Bend ‘modernization’ would add a fracked gas pipeline and a massive gas-burning power plant, and continue burning coal at existing units—all without even testing the market for clean, safe, money-saving alternatives like solar, which TECO is required to do by law.

“TECO is trying to avoid talking about cost of climate change while making it far worse, and is also exposing Tampa Bay’s communities to catastrophic environmental harm.

“There’s no excuse—especially in the Sunshine State—to expand the use of fracked gas and recommit to burning coal when solar resources are abundant, and when the science is clear that Florida must stop burning dirty, dangerous fossil fuels to avoid the worst effects of climate change, including stronger hurricanes and flooding from rising seas.

“TECO should get on the right side of history by scrapping this plan and investing in 100 percent clean energy. Floridians demand, and deserve, decision makers who put our communities’ public health and safety above polluter profits.”

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About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.