Ricky Junquera - ricky.junquera@sierraclub.org - (617) 599-7048
Valerie Holford for Earthjustice - valerieholford@starpower.net - (202) 365-5336
JACKSON, MI-- Today, Consumers Energy CEO Patti Poppe announced the retirement by 2023 of the company’s Karn coal-burning power plant, which emits nearly 3 million tons of carbon pollution per year. Consumers is slated to submit its Integrated Resource Plan, which will include the Karn retirement, to the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) at the end of the week. According to Consumers’ press release issued today, that IRP will propose adding 5,000 MWs of solar in the 2020s, along with increased wind, battery storage, and efficiency.
“This is great news for the people of Michigan. Consumers Energy is taking a step in the right direction by setting a retirement date for the Karn coal-fired power plant and apparently planning to replace that plant with clean energy. It is way past time for this antiquated technology and dirty fossil fuel to go,” said Regina Strong, Michigan Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “We’ve heard Patti Poppe talk about being forward-thinking, and this announcement represents a positive move towards a clean energy future. The job is not done. We will continue to organize Consumers’ customers to ensure that workers and the community around the Karn plant are taken care of. We will also continue to organize until all Consumers customers can be free of fossil fuels, with the retirement of the Campbell coal-fired power plant on Lake Michigan.”
“Coal is becoming less economically viable every day. Consumers Energy’s prudent decision to retire the Karn coal plant recognizes that reality.” said Shannon Fisk Managing Attorney for Earthjustice’s Coal Program. “Fossil fuels like coal have too many risks and too few benefits to have a long-term place in our nation’s energy sector. We hope that this announcement will be accompanied by a real effort by Consumers and the state to provide a just transition to Karn employees and the surrounding community so that all will benefit as we move to clean, reliable, low-cost energy.”
Under Michigan law, Consumers is required to file a proposed 15-year energy plan with the state by Friday. Sierra Club and Earthjustice intend to carefully evaluate that filing, and to actively engage in the PSC proceeding regarding the proposed plan. Consumers will still need to determine what to do with its largest polluter, the JH Campbell coal-burning plant in West Olive, MI. JH Campbell is the third largest source of carbon pollution in Michigan, after the DTE Monroe and Belle River plants, according to U.S. EPA data.
Sierra Club and Earthjustice intend to carefully evaluate that filing, and to actively engage in the PSC proceeding regarding the proposed plan.
The Karn retirement accounts for the 270th coal plant retired or announced to be retired nationwide since the Beyond Coal Campaign began in 2010.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.