Edward Smith, edward.smith@sierraclub.org, (314) 705-4975
Cherelle Blazer, cherelle.blazer@sierraclub.org, (214) 604-0425
BATON ROUGE, LA -- Yesterday, the Louisiana Public Service Commission (PSC) approved Southwest Electric Power Company’s (SWEPCO) request to provide up to 464 MW of renewable wind energy to its customers in the state. SWEPCO expects the wind energy investment will save its customers an estimated $2 billion over the 30-year life of the project and create hundreds of jobs.
Meanwhile, SWEPCO and Cleco, majority owners of the Dolet Hills coal plant, expect the facility and the lignite mine that provides its fuel to close by September 2021, pending regulatory approval. The planned retirement is five years earlier than an agreement reached between Sierra Club and SWEPCO in the Arkansas PSC on January 8, 2020.
Sierra Club’s analysis shows that permanently retiring Dolet Hills will save $85 million annually in energy costs. In addition to cost savings, closing the plant will stop two million tons of carbon dioxide, three million tons of nitrogen oxides, and nineteen million tons of sulphur dioxide emissions annually. That is good news for nearby communities affected by air pollution, especially Mansfield whose population is 76% African American and Shreveport whose population is 57% African American. The facility received a “D” grade from the NAACP’s “Coal Blooded” analysis. Dolet Hills marks the 300th coal plant retired during Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign.
Sierra Club statement:
Cherelle Blazer, Senior Campaign Representative for Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign: “It’s a good day knowing that Sierra Club’s intervention will save $85 million a year in energy costs while people closest to the facility will soon breathe cleaner air. Sierra Club encourages the cost saving to be used for a just transition for workers and reduce utility bills for customers. The urgency for an equitable transition away from coal--and the air pollution that comes with burning fossil fuels--is made all the more apparent as we face a respiratory pandemic. As SWEPCO moves forward with delivering low-cost wind energy to Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards should recognize the clean energy transition is happening and use the power of his office to facilitate this transition equitably.”
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.