Bianca Sanchez, bianca.sanchez@sierraclub.org
FLORIDA. -- Seminole Electric Coop has received its fourth consecutive failing grade, according to the Sierra Club’s 2024 Dirty Truth Report. The cooperative is just one of four utilities of the 75 analyzed in the report to have scored four straight scores of 0 out of 100.
The Sierra Club’s annual Dirty Truth Report, now in its fourth iteration, assigns utilities scores and grades based on three criteria: plans to retire polluting coal plants by 2030, whether they plan to build new gas power plants through 2035, and the scale of their plans to develop clean energy through 2035.
Seminole plans to retire 29 percent of its coal by 2030 and add 1,552 MW of new gas infrastructure by 2035. The cooperative plans to replace a measly six percent of their fossil generation with clean energy. In September, Seminole was included in a list of 16 cooperatives across the country to share in a $7.3 billion grant awarded by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program. An estimated 3,400 jobs will be created by Seminole’s anticipated investment in 700 MW of solar and storage.
“The New ERA funds are an excellent reminder of what’s possible when federal funding for clean energy development is leveraged to create good, local, green jobs and boost renewable energy solutions,” said Brooke Alexander-Goss, Sierra Club Florida Clean Energy Organizing Manager. “Seminole is among the lowest scoring utilities in the nation. Floridians need further investments in clean energy and less reliance on pricey, polluting fossil fuels.”
Although clean energy is less expensive than 99 percent of existing coal and new gas generation, only 20 of the 75 utilities have plans to be entirely coal-free by 2030. The utilities in the report are also planning to build 93 GW of new gas capacity through 2035. The amount of planned gas per year is higher than in any previous version of our report, indicating a troubling trend among these utilities.
Still, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 continues to reduce the cost of clean energy while creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. Wind and solar energy overtook coal in power generation through the first half of 2024 and are expected to continue their progress for the rest of the year, a major milestone for the power sector. But many utilities are lagging behind, deploying wind and solar too slowly while hanging on to dirty, expensive coal plants.
Utilities scored an overall grade of 'D,' or 29 out of 100, in the report, only improving their overall score by 12 points since 2021, the first year Sierra Club conducted the analysis. In an interactive webpage, users can see their utility’s score and what progress–if any–the utility has made toward transitioning to cleaner, more affordable energy since the first version of the report in 2021.
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.