Puget Sound Energy’s proposed sale of its ownership share of a Montana coal plant would likely increase climate pollution, raise monthly costs for PSE customers and handicap the utility’s ability to invest in clean energy in the coming years.
Thursday morning, clean energy advocates, community members, and elected officials will deliver a signed Letter of Principles to Colorado’s largest utility, Xcel Energy, regarding their upcoming Electric Resource Plan that will determine which resources are used to generate electricity moving forward. The letter is signed by 4,000 Xcel electricity customers and Pueblo residents, as well as 70 elected officials from Xcel’s service territory.
Today, former coal lobbyist and EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler finalized another rollback allowing industrial polluters to skirt the Clean Air Act to release more dangerous pollution into vulnerable communities and chip away at the effectiveness of one of our nation’s bedrock environmental laws.
New Orleans, LA -- A new report from Sierra Club finds that retiring four of Louisiana’s coal burning units would save $1.1 billion, prevent 349 asthma attacks, and save 51 lives annually. Louisiana’s dirty coal plants only account for 8% of all electric generation in the state while contributing 99.7% of sulfur dioxide, 46% of nitrogen oxide, and 42% of carbon dioxide pollution of all electric generating facilities in the state.
DENVER (Sept. 30, 2020) — After two climate modeling reports released this week highlighted the need to rapidly transition all sectors to clean energy, NRDC and Sierra Club are calling on the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC), Colorado Department of Public Health (CDPHE), and Colorado Energy Office (CEO) to translate research into reality.
Austin, Tex. - Texas based Vistra Energy announced plans today to accelerate its transition to clean energy generation by retiring all the coal plants owned by its subsidiaries in Illinois and Ohio.
Texas based Vistra Energy announced plans today to accelerate its transition to clean energy generation by retiring all the coal plants owned by its subsidiaries in Illinois and Ohio. In a move intended to reduce the utility’s outsized climate impact, the announcement targets more than 6,211 megawatts (MW) of coal based electricity generation at six coal plants, which is equivalent to a year’s worth of carbon emissions from 10,380,659 passenger vehicles. These announced retirements mark 166,395 MW of coal capacity proposed and retired with 185,022 MW remaining in the United States.
Salt Lake City, UT - Today, 20 Utah businesses came out against the local utility, Rocky Mountain Power, proposal which would prevent families and businesses from affording rooftop solar on their homes and buildings (full list of businesses at the bottom of press release). The proposal would reduce the export solar credit rate by 84 percent -- which would make Utah’s solar export credit the lowest in the entire country, despite the fact that Utah has some of the best solar resources -- a move that would effectively kill the solar industry in Utah.
Today, Sierra Club released a report card grading MidAmerican Energy’s performance in seven key areas ranging from coal usage, to lack of an emissions reduction goal, to equitable access to clean energy, as well as an overall grade for the utility. The report card follows the release of a more technical economic analysis of MidAmerican’s energy generation released in a report last month, The Coal Truth. The economic report found that MidAmerican’s most uneconomic plants in Iowa, have lost $27.5 million for customers over the last five years and both plants could retire without needing to replace their generated power until 2023. Those retirements would save utility customers $92 million.
St. Louis, MO -- Ameren Missouri, the state’s largest monopoly electric utility, released its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) today that details how it will meet energy demand for the next twenty years and beyond. The IRP is mandated by the Public Service Commission (PSC), which regulates monopoly utilities like Ameren. Part of the announcement includes a significant addition of 3,100MW of renewable energy by 2030 and another 2,300MW following 2030. Ameren also makes a commitment for reaching net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
DENVER (Sept. 28, 2020) — A new report released today shows how Colorado can reach its ambitious climate goals in a way that cuts dangerous pollution, particularly in communities disproportionately impacted by air pollution. The findings highlight the need for swiftly powering the electric sector with renewable resources, reducing oil and gas production and associated emissions, and electrifying vehicles, buildings, and public transit. The report was released by Evolved Energy, GridLab, NRDC, and Sierra Club with support from PSE Healthy Energy.
Little Rock, AR -- Last week, the Sierra Club filed a request to vacate the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality’s (ADEQ) wastewater discharge permit for the Flint Creek coal-burning plant, owned and operated by Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO). The filing alleges that the state failed to consider relevant factors meant to protect people and the environment from toxic water pollution as required by the Clean Water Act.