Edward Smith, edward.smith@sierraclub.org
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Today, the Sierra Club released its sixth Dirty Truth Report. Ameren, AECI and Evergy all earned 0 out of 100 for the first time since the inaugural report was released in 2021. The report grades 76 utilities across the country based on how much coal they are retiring, how much gas they are planning to build, and how much renewable energy they are adding.
The aggregate score nationwide decreased eight points, falling to 7 out of 100 possible points and its lowest level in the report’s history. Utilities around the country are choosing to power data centers with expensive fossil fuels instead of affordable clean energy, including in Missouri and Kansas.
Ameren Missouri earned 0% (F), its lowest score and a significant slide from its peak score of 41% (C) in 2022. Ameren earned its lowest grade ever because it has no plans to accelerate the closure of its Labadie coal plant, one of the dirtiest and deadliest coal plants in the country. Ameren is also building a significant amount of new gas-burning power plants to meet increased demand from data centers along with incremental investments in new renewable energy. Ameren admits its Sioux coal-burning plant is unlikely to operate at least two months each year, meaning it could randomly be offline while customers continue to pay.
“The direction CEO Marty Lyons Jr. is taking Ameren Missouri is completely out of alignment with the needs of struggling families and businesses in our state,” said Jenn DeRose, Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign Strategist in Missouri. “We need everyone to tell Ameren that it’s wrong to own and operate the deadliest coal plant in the country, and the utility needs to do everything possible to invest in more clean energy because it will literally save lives.”
AECI earned a 0% (F), the same score it has earned each since 2022. AECI appears committed to burning coal at its Thomas Hill plant in northern Missouri following a significant unplanned outage and expensive repairs over the last few years. Thomas Hill was offline for more than six months, including January 2025 when it was needed to power the grid during a polar vortex. AECI can be more secretive about its financials because it’s not a monopoly utility regulated by the state, nor is it a municipal utility that is overseen by locally elected officials. AECI has an opportunity to increase its renewable energy investments to support the repowering of the Magnitude 7 Metals aluminum smelter in southeast Missouri, which previously recorded some of the dirtiest air in the country.
Evergy earned a 0% (F), falling from the 9% (F) it earned last year. Between now and 2035, Evergy only plans to add 935 megawatts of new solar and just 300 megawatts of new wind energy. Additionally, Evergy plans to add 2,817 megawatts of new gas plants by 2030 and 4,877 megawatts by 2035, whereas its 2021 energy plan had no plans for new gas. Meanwhile, Evergy is delaying coal plant retirements. CEO David Campbell’s pivot toward more coal- and gas-burning led the utility to quietly drop its 70% greenhouse gas reduction target by 2030 goal from its website and regulatory filings, all while the company continues greenwashing its image.
“A prime example of Evergy’s poor decision-making is the utility’s request to increase monthly bills to pay for more than $50,000 in games like ping pong and air hockey at its headquarters," said Ty Gorman, Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign Organizing Strategist in Kansas. “Evergy’s leadership is completely out of touch with its customers’ needs. We need business and civic leaders to step up and speak out to the utility’s regulators because it’s clear that David Campbell won’t willingly do what’s in our best interest.”
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 these utilities are doubling down on dangerous, expensive fossil fuels. This means higher bills for families, more dangerous pollution and less reliable energy.
The Associated Press evaluated the impact of the Trump EPA’s rules rollbacks for coal and gas plants, finding the targeted rules could “prevent an estimated 30,000 deaths and save $275 billion each year they are in effect.” The Sierra Club tracks how Missouri and Kansas coal plants have escaped pollution reduction measures under the Trump administration. Last week, the EPA moved to repeal the Endangerment Finding for greenhouse gas emissions, the basis for regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
The full report is available on the Dirty Truth website or here.
“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.