Ricky Junquera, ricky.junquera@sierraclub.org
Columbus, OH - Yesterday, GenOn announced the company will retire the final 680 megawatt unit at the Avon Lake coal plant by September 15, 2021.
The Avon Lake lake plant was previously announced for retirement in 2012. GenOn would later decide it would instead retire the smaller and older Unit 7 (86 megawatts) and make investments in the larger Unit 9 (680 megawatts) and continue to burn coal. Over the past few years, the plant’s capacity factor diminished as the economic realities of the decline in coal played out.
Today’s announcement marks the end of coal burning on the Ohio shores of Lake Erie.
In response, Neil Waggoner, Senior Campaign Representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign in Ohio said the following:
“GenOn has been dancing around the retirement of the Avon Lake coal plant for almost a decade. We are also seeing more coal retirements in a state that leads the country in moving away from coal. At the same time, it is hopeful to see new manufacturing in Ohio, to move forward clean 21st Century energy technology. Today, First Solar announced a massive solar panel factory expansion near Toledo.
“As coal generation ends in Ohio, it’s critical our state leaders begin implementing policies that better support coal plant and mining communities instead of focusing on attacking renewable energy and forcing Ohioans to bail out corporate profits in support of uneconomic generation. The legacy of coal in Ohio will be with us forever and we must support the communities that have been at the forefront of that legacy.”
Background:
GenOn’s announcement comes the same day United States solar manufacturer First Solar announced it plans to invest $680 million in expanding its solar manufacturing capacity including the construction of a third factory in Ohio making it the largest solar manufacturing factory complex outside of China.
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.