Adil Trehan, adil.trehan@sierraclub.org
Des Moines, Iowa -- Today the new CEO of utility company MidAmerican, Kelcey Brown, received a gift basket with a petition signed by over 1300 Iowans and letters from local clean air advocates at Clean Air Muscatine calling on the utility to commit to a plan to go 100% clean energy.
With a new CEO, MidAm has the chance to catch up with other utilities that are much farther ahead in their transition to clean energy. In a recent scorecard of utility climate plans, MidAm scored a 23/100, or a D, because despite investments in clean energy, the utility has kept five massive coal plants online with no retirement date. Retiring the George Neal North and South coal plants by 2023 would save customers $92 million, improve public health, and help mitigate extreme flooding that has already impacted countless Iowa farmers and families. To become the responsible utility and climate leader they claim to be, MidAmerican needs to make near-term commitments to phasing out coal and investing in clean energy.
“MidAmerican has been the single biggest contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions driving the climate crisis in Iowa,” said Jake Grobe, Iowa CCI Climate Justice Organizer. “And it is Black, Indigenous, immigrant, houseless, and working-class communities that are losing everything for it. You have an obligation to correct this injustice by shutting down your coal plants today, and investing into building up our homes and communities to withstand the extreme weather on the horizon.”
"You now hold the power to make decisions that impact all of Iowa and all Iowans, for better or worse,” said Freedom Malik, Muscatine Activist. “I ask that you keep in mind how precious this land is and important it is to the people who now live here as you settle into your new career. Please remember that you are not just the CEO of MidAmerican, you are now an Iowan.”
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.