Edward Smith, edward.smith@sierraclub.org
Kansas City, MO – Out of the 50 largest parent companies analyzed throughout the country, three of the top ten utilities that operate coal plants without a 2030 retirement commitment are headquartered in Missouri; Ameren Missouri (6th), Evergy (7th), and the Associated Electric Cooperatives of Missouri (10th). That’s why these three utilities regularly score among the worst in the country during the Sierra Club’s annual evaluation of forward-looking energy plans in the updated Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges report released today.
The Dirty Truth report spotlights Evergy’s forward-looking commitment to burning coal and gas. Despite Evergy’s past investments in wind, the dirty truth is that Evergy plans 3,000 megawatts of new gas-burning power generation by 2035 and another 3,000 megawatts of new-gas burning generation after 2035. That’s enough electricity to power approximately 6,000,000 homes, which shows just how massive Evergy’s plan is to invest in potent greenhouse gasses as a major fuel source for its customers. Evergy currently serves 1,700,000 customers in Kansas and Missouri. Beyond the report, Investing.com released a SWOT analysis of Evergy stating its over-reliance on coal is a weakness while investment in renewable energy is an opportunity.
According to the updated report, Evergy’s score went from 9 out of 100 (F) to 13 out of 100 (F), Ameren Missouri’s score lowered from 31 out of 100 (D) to 19 out of 100 (D), and AECI saw its score remain at 0 out of 100 (F) for the third year in a row.
The Sierra Club assigned utilities scores based on their plans in three areas: 1) commitments to retire coal by 2030, 2) plans to build gas through 2035, and 3) plans to build or purchase clean energy by 2035. The score is on a scale of 0 to 100, with a utility earning points by committing to retire coal and adding clean energy and losing points by adding new gas. The inaugural Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges report was released in January 2021.
Justification for utility scores include:
Ameren Missouri’s score regressed because of the new gas-burning power plant it announced last year that is scheduled to begin operating in 2028. Ameren plans to build 2,000 megawatts of gas-burning power between now and 2035 while only 58 percent of its current coal and gas is planned to be replaced by renewable energy by 2035.
AECI’s score remained a 0 out of 100 because it plans to add 900 megawatts of gas-burning power before the end of 2030 and has no plan to replace any of its coal with renewable energy by 2035.
Evergy’s score remains low because, on top of its remaining coal, the utility plans to build nearly 3 gigawatts (GW) of new gas by 2035 while only 45 percent of its current gas and coal generation will be replaced with renewable energy by 2035.
Statement from Gretchen Waddell Barwick, Chapter Director of the Missouri Sierra Club:
“Even though Ameren acknowledges on its website that extreme weather threats are increasing and that it’s ‘leading the energy transition’, the dirty truth is that Missouri’s utilities are falling behind and their slow transition to clean energy will only worsen the extreme weather in our state and beyond. We need Ameren and Evergy to be real clean energy leaders moving forward instead of pointing to their current clean energy investments as an excuse to burn coal into the 2040s and build new gas-burning power plants that lock in carbon pollution into the 2060s or later. I encourage people who care about climate change to use our dashboard to learn more about Missouri utilities’ energy plans and to speak up if you think they’re moving too slow.”
Statement from Ty Gorman, Kansas Field Organizer for the Sierra Club:
“It’s frustrating to know that Evergy’s slick advertising is intended to distract from its massive reliance on existing coal-burning power plants and future gas-burning power plant investments. We need Evergy to quickly move to clean energy in order to avoid the worst impacts of our changing climate, and burning coal into the 2040s or gas into the 2060s is not compatible with a habitable planet. Evergy’s energy plan raises the question of whether the utility takes its own climate goals seriously.”
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.