Arkansas PSC approved the retirement of the Dolet Hills Power Station today, in a settlement with Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), making it the 300th coal plant proposed to retire since the beginning of Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign.
ARKANSAS - Today, Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) announced the retirement of the Dolet Hills coal-fired power plant as part of a settlement with Sierra Club in the Arkansas Public Service Commission. Communities in Shreveport and Northeastern Louisiana have long been affected by air pollution from Dolet Hills, while communities in Arkansas have had to foot the bill to keep the expensive and aging coal plant in operation.
Oakland, CA—Sierra magazine’s January/ February edition is now on newsstands and arriving at subscribers’ homes.
Highlights include:
Sierra Club is raising the alarm on electric utilities that continue to rely on fossil fuels following the release of the 2018 greenhouse gas emissions report by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The Report found that Iowa’s statewide greenhouse gas emissions increased in 2018. The Report makes clear that the source of the emissions increase is a continued reliance on fossil fuels for power generation. According to the Report, greenhouse gas emissions from Iowa’s power plants rose an astonishing 16% between 2017 and 2018, accounting for the vast majority of the state’s emissions increase. This increase is attributed to a 12.6% increase in power generated from coal and a 60.7% increase in power from burning gas.
OAKLAND, CA -- Puerto Rico this morning was hit by a powerful earthquake that killed at least one person and injured many. It is the second large quake to strike the island in two days, part of a series of tremors over the past weeks. The quakes have caused widespread destruction and much of the island is currently without power.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection fined ETC, an affiliate of the gas and propane transportation company Energy Transfer Partners, $30.6 million after its Revolution Pipeline exploded
Washington, DC-- Over the holidays, it was revealed that the Trump administration’s Department of the Interior (DOI) will remove “sexual orientation” from the agency’s anti-discrimination guidelines. The change could have an effect on both LGBTQ people applying for jobs at DOI, as well as existing employees seeking to report discrimination internally. The decision could lead to more workplace discrimation.
Today, the Associated Press reported that despite Donald Trump repeatedly touting Superfund clean-ups as a major priority -- including earlier this week -- his administration has built up the biggest backlog of unfunded projects in at least 15 years. These numbers come from Trump’s own Environmental Protection Agency.
Washington, DC - Yesterday, Donald Trump continued to spread lies about the booming clean energy industry and wind power. In his speech, Trump claimed that he’s studied wind power “better than anybody,” yet he’s spread numerous lies about the energy source, including that it causes cancer.
ST. PAUL AND DULUTH, MINNESOTA -- Today, the Minnesota Court of Appeals overturned the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC’s) approval of the Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC), a fracked gas power plant proposal in Superior, Wisconsin that would be jointly owned by Minnesota Power. The Court’s decision requires the Minnesota PUC to assess the impact of pollution it would create over its forty year lifespan, including greenhouse gas pollution, air and water pollution and other impacts.