Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has largely captured headlines as countries across the globe confront the enormous challenges related to this crisis. At the same time, climate change and climate justice action has continued in the background, as the Earth’s destabilizing weather patterns and ecosystems wait for no one.
One key element of addressing the climate crisis is transforming our energy system. Even as the risks of climate change have been known for many decades and the public overwhelmingly supports the expansion of renewable energy, our society is still highly dependent on fossil fuels to operate.
A key move in accelerating the push towards renewable energy is transitioning rapidly away from coal, our dirtiest fossil fuel. Besides directly impacting the climate through the greenhouse gas emissions created during its combustion, coal threatens the health of people in its vicinity through its detrimental impacts on both air and water quality.
We can’t allow the transition off of coal to become a transition to fossil gas. ‘Natural’ gas, so often touted as a bridge fuel or even a “sustainable” one, is not the solution to our energy needs. Also known as fossil gas, this fuel type emits both carbon dioxide and methane, a greenhouse gas 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide in warming the planet. Furthermore, fossil gas also harms the health of those living nearby an extraction operation. Clearly, any just and effective energy plan cannot include this type of fuel.
In Wisconsin, the fight for clean energy continues. Even though Governor Evers proposed a plan for the state to become carbon-free by 2050, the changes to bring about such a reality are not happening fast enough. Nevertheless, clean energy advocates in Wisconsin have still had some major victories in the past year.
A number of coal plants are set to retire in the near future, meaning that these operations will no longer endanger the health of those that live in their shadow. One plant in particular in Genoa (owned by Dairyland) already closed in 2021. The Columbia plant, jointly owned by energy providers Alliant, WPS, and MGE, is slated to retire in 2025. South Oak Creek, owned by WEC, has announced the retirement of one of its coal-burning units in 2023 and a second in 2024. Finally, Alliant’s coal-burning plant in Edgewater is expected to close by the end of the year.
All of these closure announcements are huge news for climate action and human health. Nevertheless, there’s still progress to be made. Dairyland’s Madgett plant and the municipally-owned Manitowoc plants have no set date of retirement. WEC and MGE’s Elm Road plant and WEC’s and Dairyland’s Weston plant have both announced a transition off coal that will occur by 2035. It is crucial to pressure all of these energy providers to either announce a retirement date or to accelerate their switch away from this dirtiest source of fuel.
The campaign to close existing gas plants and avoid the construction of new ones is also in progress.
Of course, it is not enough to work for the closure of toxic fossil fuel-burning plants. We must also simultaneously work for the rapid expansion of renewable energy projects. Programs for the deployment of renewable energy such as wind and solar across the state of Wisconsin could provide thousands of good-paying jobs. Such projects can revitalize communities and replace what used to be a pollutant-emitting plant with a source of income that does not release toxins into the area. Furthermore, every renewable energy installment means that fewer climate-altering emissions are being released into the atmosphere.
The renewable energy question is not a technological one, but a political one. We have the scientific knowledge we need to bring about the green energy economy. It is crucial that we pressure our utilities and elected officials to understand the importance of the clean energy future as well.
Recently, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has demonstrated a way to help create a path towards 100% clean energy. Though the PUC did not approve or reject a proposal for new gas in Minnesota, it required added scrutiny before moving forward that would include an analysis of whether clean energy and battery storage could serve the same purpose.
We need Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission (PSC) to demonstrate a similar commitment to figuring out a path to 100% clean energy. If you haven’t yet, please sign the petition to the PSC asking them to leave gas in the past.
by Søren Warland, Coal to Clean Energy Team member