Vanessa Ramos, vanessa.ramos@sierraclub.org, (512) 586-1853
Precious Brady-Davis, precious.brady-davis@sierraclub.org (312) 229-4695
TEXAS - Last week, American Electric Power (AEP) announced that the Oklaunion coal-fired power plant in Vernon, Texas will be shutting down no later than September 2020.This is welcome news to Texans and Oklahomans alike who currently breathe air polluted by this plant.
Oklaunion, an approximate 700-megawatt power plant, is owned by AEP Texas, Brownsville Public Utilities Board, Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority and the Public Service Company of Oklahoma.
This plant, situated near the border between Texas and Oklahoma, provides power for both the Southwest Power Pool in Oklahoma and the area managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). In addition to providing power, this plant is a a top ten polluter of Nitrogen Oxide (NOx)- a smog forming pollutant- out of ALL industrial sites in Texas.
In response Oklahoma Sierra Club Chapter Director Johnson Bridgwater released the following statement:
“Oklaunion sits less than 50 miles away from the iconic Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma, and contributes significantly to hazy skies in national parks and wilderness areas across the region. Sierra Club has long advocated for more stringent pollution limits at the plant to protect air quality in Texas and Oklahoma communities as well as national parks. EPA and Texas have refused to limit pollution from the power plant to protect visibility and air quality in Oklahoma and Texas national parks and wilderness areas.”
In response Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign Representative Chrissy Mann released the following statement:
“The Wind Boom in Texas and Oklahoma is making real impacts on our energy generation. It is obviously cleaner than fossil fuels, and much much cheaper. West Texas and west Oklahoma have some of the cheapest electricity anywhere in U.S. No doubt that reality made this plant more expensive to operate than the available ERCOT and SPP resources in the area. In Brownsville, Texas, this should translate to cheaper power made available for Brownsville ratepayers.”
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.