Clean Energy

Within each category, latest comments below are listed first.
Links are provided to longer comments included elsewhere.

  • Coal
  • 11/17/15 - Congressional Vote Against the Clean Power Plan Undermines Public Health
  • 11/3/15 - U.S. District Court Rules For Sierra Club; Sets Final Date For Clean Air Plan
  • 8/7/15 - Redfield Coal Phaseout
  • 4/8/15 - Sierra Club Receives $30M Gift From Bloomberg Philanthropies
  • 1/15/15 - Haze Restrictions for Texas Coal Plants
  • 10/27/14 - Clean Power Means Good Jobs for State
  • Solar
  • 5/3/20 - Jonesboro to develop 13.25 megawatt solar array
  • 4/15/15 - First Utility-Scale Solar Energy Project Proposed In Arkansas
  • CO2 Emission Reduction
  • 9/18/14- Support EPA's Clean Power Plan
  • Clean Line Energy Project
  • 11/15/15 - Final Environmental Impact Statement maps
  • 2/21/15 - A Natural Approach - Wind-power Line Good for State
  • 2/4/15 - Come Testify for Clean Wind Energy in AR!
  • 1/28/15 - Help Bring Clean Wind Energy to The Natural State!
  • 11/17/14 - Hendrix Panel Discussion
  • Other
  • 1/18/15 - Gaseous Fuels Rebate Program
  • 10/22/14 - Arkansas Named One of Four "Most Improved" States for Energy Efficiency
  • 8/29/14 - Today's Media: Arkansas Sierra Club In The News

Coal Coal Power Plant

10/15/15 - Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge claims that Sierra Club can't sue the EPA to enforce clean air laws because we are "essentially an out-of-state organization trying to put their own policies into regulations here in Arkansas." Click here for Sierra Club - Arkansas Director Glen Hooks' response.

8/7/15 - Redfield - White Bluff Coal Plant - Entergy Arkansas officials proposed phasing out coal use at plant by 50%  by 2027 and 100% by 2028. See related article on effect on community in Aug. 16 Sunday's edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette page 1B. ...For more information, see 5A of the today's Conway Log Cabin Democrat or go to: http://www.arkansasenergy.org/gaseous-fuels-rebate-program.aspx   ...Sierra Club Arkansas Director Glen Hooks commented "I congratulate them on making the right decision here. This is a big step for an Arkansas utility."

4/8/15 - Sierra Club Receives $30M Gift From Bloomberg Philanthropies - From: Glen Hooks glen.hooks@sierraclub.org - Really big news today, as Sierra Club receives a $30M investment from Bloomberg Philanthropies to continue our work to replace dirty coal with clean energy.  Very exciting stuff!  See the following press release: http://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2015/04/bloomberg-philanthropies-boosts-investment-sierra-club-retire-us-coal-fleet

1/15/2015 - Haze Restrictions for Texas Coal Plants - EPA Hearing in OKC - Rel Corbin's comments after the 1/15 EPA Hearing in OKC:

Have Texas Polluters been making reasonable efforts to stop dirtying air? - - Texas polluters are not dumb or uneducated or unsophisticated.- -  Texas polluters are not poor. - -  Texas polluters surely have known that they are supposed to stop dirtying air. - - Scrubbers take toxins out of power plant smoke stacks.

Where does this scrubber waste go? - - Dumped into water. - - Heaped to accumulate in huge piles. - - That toxic scrubber waste will sooner and later be disbursed to poison air, water and soil. - - SWEPCO/AEP's Turk plant near Texarkanna dumps its scrubber waste into the Little River and on to the Red, the Mississippi, and the Gulf of Mexico to poison oceans.

I am understanding that Texas polluters may have until 2064 to improve air quality to natural conditions -- 50 years! - - That is insane! - - Texas coal plants must go soon. - - Renewable energy, wind and solar, work well now, economically, and they are not even up to big scale.

I spent New Years Day with The Arkansas Canoe Club, cleaning the Litle Maumelle River (not much trash there.) - - Cold rain, 4 miles , 4 hours, got stuck on a stump in over 6 feet of water over 60 feet from nearest shore. - - Exausting, freezing, nerve racking. -- But I'll go back. - - May be scary , can't see how yet, but, "Do it. - - Stop those polluters now." - - "You and we can!" [TOP}

10/27/14 - Clean Power Means Good Jobs for State - (Glen Hooks Commentary in arkansasBusiness.com) - ...Simply put, we have to transition away from our state’s three aging and dirty coal-fired power plants, invest in producing wind and solar energy and enact an aggressive energy-efficiency program that eliminates wasted electricity. Doing this the right way means a tidal wave of jobs for Arkansans: building and installing solar panels and wind turbines, installing energy-efficient appliances and retrofitting homes and businesses...See rest of commentary at: http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/101559/clean-power-means-good-jobs-for-state-glen-hooks-commentary

Solar

5/3/20 - Jonesboro to develop 13.25 megawatt solar array. For more info, check today's Democrat-Gazette page 4B.

4/15/15 - First Utility-Scale Solar Energy Project Proposed in Arkansas

Entergy and partners are constructing the first-ever utility-scale solar farm in Arkansas!  81 MW in Stuttgart. Project will bring jobs, clean energy to Arkansas

Contact: 
Glen Hooks, (501) 744-2674, glen.hooks@sierraclub.org
Jessica Herrera, (520) 260-1725, jessica.herrera@sierraclub.org

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. – Entergy Arkansas today filed a power purchase agreement with the Arkansas Public Service Commission for a 20-year supply of solar energy from a solar facility near Stuttgart, Ark. The large-scale solar farm will begin construction in spring 2016 and be ready to connect to the grid by mid-2019.

The facility, to be called Stuttgart Solar, will consist of solar panels covering nearly 500 acres of land capable of producing 81 MW of electric power. This will be the first large-scale renewable energy facility in Arkansas.

In response to today's news Glen Hooks, chapter director for the Arkansas Chapter of the Sierra Club, issued the following statement:

“The clean energy revolution has now officially begun in The Natural State. As our first home-grown renewable energy project, this is a truly historic announcement. The Sierra Club congratulates both Stuttgart Solar, Entergy, and NextEra on this move and looks forward to welcoming Arkansas solar energy into our state's power supply.

The Sierra Club has long advocated for Arkansas to generate our own solar and wind energy here at home, just as our neighboring states have done for years. Today's announcement proves Arkansas is ready to get started as a renewable energy leader.”

##

Glen Hooks, J.D.
Chapter Director
Sierra Club of Arkansas
1308 West 2nd Street
Little Rock, AR  72201
(501) 301-8280 (office)
(501) 744-2674 (cell)
glen.hooks@sierraclub.org

CO2 Emission Reduction

9/18/14 - Support EPA's Clean Power Plan - For the first time in our nation's history, EPA has proposed to limit the amount of carbon dioxide emissions coming from dirty power plants. This is a big deal.  ...Arkansas is set to reduce its CO2 emissions by 44%. If we do it right--with an emphasis on moving away from dirty coal, ramping up renewable energy and focusing on energy efficiency--we can create thousands of jobs for Arkansans while also improving our environmental and public health. ...Tell EPA that you support clean energy here in Arkansas! We need your voice to help push this rule over the finish line. THANK YOU. [The comment period ended December 1] 

Clean Line Energy Project

11/15/15 - A final environmental impact statement (EIS) identifies the preferred location for the direct current transmission line and other project facilities in Arkansas. Detailed maps are available at www.PlainsandEasternCleanLine.com

2/21/15 - A Natural Approach - Wind-power Line Good for State - Check Saturday's Democrat-Gazette page 9B for this Guest Editorial by Hanna Davis, a sophomore and vice-chair of Environmental Concerns Committee at Hendrix college and currently an intern with the Sierra Club.

2/4/15 - Come Testify for Clean Wind Energy in AR! - Message from Chapter Director Glen Hooks: I'm looking for some folks to join me at a Department of Energy hearing in Morrilton on Thursday 2/19, to support the proposed Clean Line Energy wind transmission line (details below).  Will you come along and testify in favor of 4000MW of wind energy?

We'll be carpooling to Morrilton from the Sierra Club office on 2/19 at 4:15 p.m..  I'd love to have you join us. Please let me know if you can go--see additional details below. Thanks ((GLEN))

Glen Hooks, J.D.
Chapter Director
Sierra Club of Arkansas
1308 West 2nd Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 301-8280 (office)
(501) 744-2674 (cell)
glen.hooks@sierraclub.org

1/28/15 - Help Bring Clean Wind Energy to The Natural State! - For years, your Sierra Club has been working to end our dependence on dirty fossil fuels and usher in a future powered by clean, renewable energy.  You've probably read news stories about how solar and wind power are setting installation records month after month across the country.  It's a truly exciting time:  while we are announcing the retirement of dirty coal plants, we are also bringing thousands of megawatts of clean energy online. 

Today, I'm happy to announce Arkansas Sierra Club's support for a game-changing wind energy project, and I'd like to ask for your help in making it happen.  Will you join us at an upcoming public hearing in Arkansas to support clean wind power?

Clean Line Energy is working to move 4000 megawatts of clean wind energy from the sparsely-populated plains of Oklahoma to where it is needed in the east.  The project is a large direct voltage transmission line carrying wind energy across Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and into Tennessee where it can hook into the TVA system.  To give you an idea of how important 4000 megawatts of wind energy is:  that is more than 6 times the power produced by an average-sized dirty coal-fired power plant.  Even better--Clean Line wants to provide 500 megawatts of wind power for Arkansas. 

Creating this much wind energy and getting it to the right places will absolutely mean that more dirty coal-fired power plants will retire.  I view this as the kind of large-scale clean energy project that is essential to moving our country off of fossil fuels.  For years, we've been saying that closing coal-fired power plants would create the market for clean energy to thrive--now that prediction is coming true.

In February, the US Department of Energy is holding six meetings across Arkansas to take public comments on the project's environmental impact.  Will you attend one of these meetings to voice your support for clean wind power? Open house 5:00 - 5:45 pm; presentation 5:45 - 6:15 pm; public comment 6:15 - 8:00 pm. Here are the dates and locations:

2/9 M - Newport, AR 72112 - Arkansas State University-Newport
2/10 T - Searcy, AR 72143 - Carmichael Community Center
2/11 W - Marked Tree, AR 72365 - Arkansas State University
2/17 T - Russellville, AR 72802 - Lake Point Conference Center
2/18 W - Fort Smith, AR 72901 - Fort Smith Convention Center
2/19 Th - Morrilton, AR 72110 - University of Arkansas Community College

If you can join us, or would like more details, please contact me at glen.hooks@sierraclub.org.  You can also learn more about the Clean Line project at http://www.plainsandeasterncleanline.com

I hope to see you at the hearings--thank you for your membership and your support!
Glen Hooks -  Chapter Director -  Sierra Club of Arkansas
For a one-page [PDF} printable copy of the above message, click HERE.

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11/17/14 - Hendrix Panel Discussion on proposed Clean Line Energy project, which intends to build an interstate transmission lines to move wind energy. Sierra Club's Glen Hooks and Bob Allen spoke in favor of the project, with two other panelists taking an opposing view. (Hendrix College, Conway - 7 pm)

Other

1/18/15 - Gaseous Fuels Rebate Program - The Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) Energy Office is reopening the rebate program, whose objectives are to:
Provide an incentive for the purchase of clean alternate fuel vehicles,
Provide an incentive for the conversion of vehicles to a clean alternate fuel using certified or approved conversion systems,
To develop the refueling infrastructure for various alternate fuels, and
Reduce emissions from motor vehicles and to improve air quality in our communities

10/22/14 - Arkansas Named One of Four "Most Improved" States for Energy Efficiency - American Council For an Energy-Efficient Economy Notes State's Progress

Today, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) lauded Arkansas for its progress in enacting aggressive energy efficiency measures. Arkansas was named as one of four "most improved" states along with Kentucky, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, moving up six spots from its 2013 ranking.

Specifically, the ACEEE noted that "[Arkansas's] budgets for electric efficiency programs increased 30% between 2012 and 2013, while electricity savings more than tripled."

In response, the Sierra Club of Arkansas issued the following statement from Glen Hooks, Chapter Director:

"Energy efficiency is one of the most important and least expensive ways we can manage our state's energy needs. Every megawatt that we save means a megawatt that won't need to be generated in the first place--saving on pollution and money. Over time, energy efficiency programs add up to power plants that don't need to be built.

"Sierra Club is glad that Arkansas's efforts have been recognized, but we have much work to do in continuing to improve. We look forward to working with state agencies and stakeholders to double our state's energy efficiency targets over the next three years."

The ACEEE's press release can be viewed at http://aceee.org/press/2014/10/massachusetts-tops-california-most-e

The ACEEE's state-by-state scorecard can be viewed at http://aceee.org/state-policy/scorecard

-- Glen Hooks, Chapter Director

8/29/14 - TODAY'S MEDIA: ARKANSAS SIERRA CLUB IN THE NEWS

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE - 8/29/14 - But it is important to recognize the price that Arkansans already are paying because of high carbon emissions in the state, said Al Armendariz, a senior campaign representative for the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign. ... Carbon emissions causing climate change cost Americans an average of $300 per person each year for federal disaster relief for flooding and for federal crop relief when farmers are unable to grow crops, Armendariz said. ... "We think when you look at dealing with climate change, the state of Arkansas is in a really good position to grow its economy, create local jobs and help the country deal with climate disaster," Armendariz said.  ...More at: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2014/aug/29/chamber-epa-s-plan-risk-to-jobs-2014082/?f=business

Glen's Comments on KUAR 89.1 FM - 8/28/14 - Nationwide, the EPA estimates consumers across the country will see a 6 to 7 percent rate increase in their electricity costs. Byers said those rates would likely go even higher in Arkansas. But the notion of economic harm was challenged Arkansas Sierra Club’s Glen Hooks. ... "It seems like whenever there's a rule that regulates power plants, the Chamber [of Commerce] tends to be against it,” he said. “I can't recall a single time the Chamber has ever supported an Environmental Protection Agency rule that would regulate power plants. ...The predicted harm to industry is overblown, said Hooks. ... “What I hear all the time is that the sky is going to fall, jobs are going to be lost, electricity prices are going to go through the roof and every time there's a rule that happens [those scenarios don't] happen.

TALKBUSINESS.NET - 8/28/14 - Arkansas Sierra Club Director Glen Hooks told participants at Thursday's meeting that Arkansas must avoid inaction on the EPA rules. "We can best achieve the goals of the Clean Power Plan by transitioning away from the older, dirtier pieces of our coal-fired power fleet and ramping up our investment in clean energy and energy efficiency," he said. "It makes a ton of economic sense as well as being better for our public and environmental health." ...More at: http://talkbusiness.net/2014/08/arkansas-stakeholders-debate-economic-impact-of-proposed-epa-rules/

ARKANSAS NEWS BUREAU - 8/28/14 - Glen Hooks, director of the Arkansas chapter of the Sierra Club, said low electricity rates have not stopped Arkansas from being one of the poorest states in the country. It is also one of the unhealthiest states in the country, he said. ... "I think there's a direct correlation in the way we've depended on our fossil fuels and our health," he said.  ...More at http://arkansasnews.com/news/arkansas/group-hears-possible-harm-benefits-proposed-epa-rule

ARKANSAS TIMES - 8/28/14 -  "Also, said Hooks of the Sierra Club, those plants are nearing the end of their lifespan anyway in the coming years -- this rule will merely hasten their demise."  ...More at: http://m.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2014/08/28/will-the-epa-carbon-rule-destroy-jobs-or-create-them-probably-both