Megan Wittman, megan.wittman@sierraclub.org
Cuyahoga County, OHIO – Cuyahoga County has been awarded a $129 million federal grant that will allow the City of Painesville to retire its aging coal plant, build new solar, and install battery storage. The grant will also help restore natural habitats, expand tree coverage on a brownfield near Lake Erie, and create new pollinator habitats at selected solar sites.
The Painesville Municipal Plant has been onsite in Northeast Ohio since the early 1900s and is one of three remaining municipal coal plants in Ohio. This announcement marks the 385th coal plant set to retire since the launch of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign in 2010.
“The retirement of this coal plant coupled with bringing more solar and battery online is a major victory for the people of Painesville, Cleveland, and Cuyahoga County. Sierra Club Ohio is thrilled to see projects like this receive the funding that is critical to our success in addressing and mitigating the disastrous effects of climate change,” said Ericka Copeland, Chapter Director of Sierra Club Ohio. “We appreciate the Biden-Harris Administration for their continued investment in a more sustainable future. This is an exciting day for Ohio.”
“I grew up in Lake County, not far from the Painesville plant, and it's very exciting to see the City not only planning to retire the plant but to replace it with solar power and battery storage,” said Neil Waggoner, Midwest Campaign Manager for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “Ohio has the 2nd most coal capacity retired or announced to retire of any state, and Painesville's innovative and collaborative approach through the CPRG award will continue that trend and provide an excellent model for how a community can move beyond coal.”
“By retiring its coal plant, the City of Painesville scored a major victory for its people, its air, and the planet. And by investing in new solar power, it is proving that communities are eager to move beyond coal. Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, cities like Painesville are able to tap into the funds that will help realize their clean energy ambitions. Bloomberg Philanthropies is proud to support the Beyond Coal campaign and move us closer to a country free from the devastating impacts of coal,” said Antha Williams, who leads the Environment program at Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The EPA selected 25 applications from local, state, and regional entities at the forefront of fighting climate pollution. The EPA estimates that the combined selected applicant projects would reduce greenhouse gas pollution by as much as 971 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050– roughly the emissions from 5 million average homes’ energy use each year for over 25 years. A complete list of recipients of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program can be found here.
The City of Painesville plans to retire the coal plant and have the replacement solar online in 2027.
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of 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.