Melissa Williams, melissa.williams@sierraclub.org
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. — Sierra Club applauds and fully supports the special resolution Indianapolis City-County Council members passed unanimously tonight, calling on local electric provider, Indianapolis Power & Light (IPL), to update its 20-year energy plan filed with state regulators in December to include the full retirement of the Petersburg Super Polluter coal plant by 2028.
The resolution also calls for the replacement of any needed power supply with clean, safe renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy storage.
The resolution cites that a majority of City-County Council members asked IPL to plan the retirement of all four units at its Petersburg Super Polluter Coal Plant, located in Southwest Indiana, during the planning process.
But IPL instead plans to retire two smaller units, and continue to burn coal at the two larger units until 2042.
In response, Wendy Bredhold, campaign representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign in Indiana, released the following statement:
“This resolution demonstrates the leadership Indianapolis needs to protect our air and water from toxic coal pollution, and to confront the climate crisis by moving rapidly away from the dangerous fossil fuels that put our families’ and children’s health at risk every single day.
“IPL’s decision to retire just two units at Petersburg, one of the worst Super Polluter coal plants in the country, is too little. We need to act now before it is too late. IPL should heed this urgent call to stop burning coal and start building the clean energy future Indianapolis communities demand and deserve.”
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.