Rebecca Kling, rebecca.kling@sierraclub.org
TOPEKA, KS -- Earlier today, Kansas-based Sunflower Electric announced it was cancelling the proposed 895 MW Holcomb 2 coal plant and that it would allow a construction permit for the facility to expire in March. This followed an announcement by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the major investor in Holcomb 2, that it would cancel the project.
The Holcomb coal power plant, located in Finney County, Kansas, already puts out millions of tons of CO2 every year, and expanding the plant would have added nearly 7 million tons of carbon to the plant’s emission profile every year.
“Today’s announcement is a significant victory in the fight to halt the climate crisis, as one of the last remaining proposed coal plants in the U.S. will never be built,“ said Andy Knott, Senior Campaign Representative with Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “The plant didn’t make sense 14 years ago when first proposed, and it certainly doesn’t pencil out today in an era of less expensive clean energy. ”
Tri-State was slated to purchase the majority of the power produced at Holcomb 2. Over the past few years, Tri-State has slowly backed away from the project. Today’s announcements by both Sunflower and Tri-State culminates a 14 year debate. Sierra Club has opposed the proposal in the courts and the halls of Kansas government for years, including filing the first of multiple legal challenges in 2007.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, 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.