Andy Li, andy.li@sierraclub.org
MONTGOMERY, Al. - Today, Sierra Club released its sixth Dirty Truth Report. This year, Alabama Power scored a 5 out of 100. The report grades utilities across the country based on how much coal they are retiring, how much gas they are planning, and how much renewable energy they are adding.
Nationally, the 76 utilities scored 7 out of 100 in aggregate. This is eight points lower than last year’s report and the lowest score in the report’s history.
According the Dirty Truth Report, Alabama Power is planning on:
- Adding 2,812 MW of new gas by 2035.
- Retiring 3,506,249 MW of coal
- Only adding 7,575 MW of renewable energy
Renewable energy remains the cheapest way to generate electricity, while coal and fossil fuels remain expensive and extremely harmful to public health. Despite this, the Dirty Truth Report shows that Alabama Power is doubling down on dangerous, expensive fossil fuels. This means higher bills for families, more dangerous pollution, and less reliable energy.
This is the first time Alabama Power has received more than a 0 in the Dirty Truth Report. Although Alabama is building slightly more clean energy, the utility is still overwhelmingly investing in gas and coal.
The full report is available on the Dirty Truth website or here.
“Alabama Power is continuing to focus on fossil fuel buildout, with no plans to retire the James H. Miller Jr. plant, the biggest greenhouse gas polluter in the nation,” said Nancy Muse, Chair of the Sierra Club Alabama Chapter. “It is disappointing that Alabama Power could lead the way for renewables and battery storage innovation but is instead taking us backwards. The company has the expertise and brainpower to be a role model for renewable energy innovation by using the energy that shines down and blows on us everyday.”
“The Dirty Truth report has once again revealed utilities’ overwhelming failure to plan a phase-out of their expensive and dirty fossil fuel infrastructure, and transition to clean energy,” said Sierra Club Chief Program Officer Holly Bender. “Every year that utilities drag their feet on the clean energy transition is another year where families pay record bills for expensive fossil fuels, another year of extreme weather events, and another year of air and water pollution threatening our health. We cannot afford to wait any longer to bring our grid into the 21st century. As artificial intelligence data centers drive demand for energy, utility companies are rushing to expensive and dangerous fossil fuels, leading to soaring electricity prices and worsening air pollution. The time is now for these companies to transition to affordable, reliable, clean energy to build a healthier and more sustainable energy future. The Sierra Club will continue to push utilities to deploy more renewable energy and work to lower costs and emissions.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of 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.