Wisconsinites Save Millions if Alliant Replaces Coal with Clean Energy, New Analysis Finds

MADISON, WI -- In a new paper released this morning, analysis by Sierra Club demonstrates that Alliant Energy would save customers millions by retiring both Edgewater and Columbia coal plants and replacing that power with a clean energy portfolio that includes wind, solar, storage, energy efficiency, and demand response technologies. 

Read Cost of Coal white paper here (link)

The release of this analysis comes on the heels of Alliant’s Friday announcement that the utility plans to retire the Edgewater plant by the end of 2022. Alliant and its co-owners have not yet committed to retiring the Columbia plant. In Wisconsin, which has some of the region’s highest electric bills, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has made monthly bills harder to manage for households affected by the economic impacts of the pandemic. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has put a moratorium on disconnections for non-payment yet high energy prices remain a long term concern for many. A recent Harvard study has also found links between air pollution and mortality rates among individuals sick with COVID-19, compounding the burdens of the economic, health and climate costs posed by continued coal power generation. 

Last week, Sierra Club volunteers delivered nearly 1,000 petitions to Alliant Energy and the co-owners of the Columbia coal plant, calling on them to commit to retiring the plant by 2030. Sierra Club’s white paper supports this ask by making the economic case that Alliant Energy could replace the plant with clean energy by 2026.

“Coal costs us. It pollutes our air and water, it threatens the health of our climate, and now we know it’s also unnecessarily costing customers millions of dollars. We in Wisconsin have had enough. It’s time to retire the Columbia coal plant and go all-in on investing in clean energy. Doing this will be a financial boon for families  during these difficult economic times, and an ongoing gift for our state's climate, natural resources, and public health,”  said Victoria Gillet, MD, a Sierra Club volunteer leader and Trowbridge Endowed Primary Care Track Chief Resident for the University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine.

The utility’s commitment last week to retire the Edgewater plant in Sheboygan in 2022 and its pledge to build 1000MW of solar by 2023 validates Sierra Club’s analysis, and Sierra Club is calling on Alliant Energy to continue this progress with a public commitment to early retirement of the Columbia coal plant. The paper’s findings suggest that replacing both Edgewater and Columbia’s generation with clean energy by 2026, would bring cost savings to customers, reduce the company’s contribution to climate change, and improve the quality of Wisconsin’s air and water. Sierra Club’s push for clean energy includes thousands of supporters, of all ages, from across the state. 

"I don't understand why adults don't do anything about climate change. Do they even realize that there is solar power? Do they even realize that I care about my future, my health, having clean water to drink? Alliant should close both of their coal plants so that I can have a future,"  said Qian Pasch, Sierra Club volunteer, age 11.

Elizabeth Ward, Director of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Sierra Club said, “Sierra Club’s analysis demonstrates that Alliant could save customers millions by replacing coal with clean energy. We are encouraged by Alliant’s recent decision to close Edgewater, and its pledge to build 1000MW of new solar by 2023 will bring new jobs to one of Wisconsin’s fastest growing industries: clean energy. Now it’s time to commit to retiring the Columbia coal plant and double down on the benefits for customers, public health, and our climate.”