by Stephen Stetson, Beyond Coal Campaign
On the last day of January, our neighbors across the border received some welcome news. Georgia Power filed notice of its intent to close two of the coal-fired power plants that have been atop Sierra Club’s target list for several years. The announcement comes at the beginning of Georgia Power’s 2019 long-term planning, which is a lengthy and public process overseen by the Georgia Public Service Commission. This process, involving the utility’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), is the single best chance for dirty coal plants to be retired, energy efficiency programs to be established, and for large volumes of clean renewable energy to be brought online.
While folks in Georgia were busy celebrating the upcoming closure of the coal units at Plant Hammond and Plant McIntosh, there was good news on the Alabama side of the border too. Although Alabama lacks the public IRP process that Georgia enjoys, we also celebrated news of a step towards fewer carbon emissions and a cleaner electrical grid.
PowerSouth, an energy cooperative based in Andalusia, announced that the long-circulating rumors were true: They are planning to shut down their only coal power plant, Plant Lowman in Leroy, Alabama. Although closure dates are not yet certain, it seems likely that the plant will cease burning coal fairly soon, although a considerable amount of toxic coal ash residue will remain on site until the company can deal with it.
The retirements of Hammond and McIntosh and Lowman will represent the removal of nearly 1.5 gigawatts of dirty coal electricity from our grid, and they represent a seismic shift as economic reality intrudes upon the lofty political rhetoric about our nation’s energy future.
Hearing these two announcements of coal plant retirements was an outstanding way to start 2019, and signals that even the largest utilities in the Southeast recognize that the days of climate change denial are finally ending, and coal isn’t returning to its former position of prominence.
That said, the remaining Southeastern coal plants – although uneconomic and dirty – aren’t going to retire by themselves. Committed and dedicated members of Sierra Club are needed to bring pressure on Alabama Power to do the right thing and transition permanently away from coal and towards clean renewable energy, especially solar and battery storage. It’ll also be a fight to ensure that retiring coal plants aren’t replaced by dirty gas power plants, which require fracking and high-risk pipelines.
Ask your Sierra Club group how you can get involved. Many people don’t have any idea where their electricity comes from. The Beyond Coal Campaign stands ready to help Alabama and Georgia both move away from polluting coal, and towards a cleaner energy landscape.
Stephen StetsonSenior Campaign RepresentativeAlabama-Georgia-MississippiBeyond Coal CampaignSierra Club