Today, in a 7-2 vote, the Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) Board voted to accelerate the closure timeline for its two coal plants. Martin Drake -- one of the nation’s last urban coal plants -- will now close by 2023 and Ray Nixon will close by 2030. As part of its 2020 Electric Resource Plan (ERP), CSU will replace its 416 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired power with 500MW of new wind energy, 150 MW of solar power, and over 400MW of battery storage in order to ensure modern and reliable energy for Colorado Springs. CSU leadership has promised that no employees will lose their jobs in the utility's energy transition.
A coalition of 42 diverse local groups and elected officials sent a letter to Michigan’s Congressional delegation today, asking them to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of clean energy and clean transportation workers in Michigan be protected and supported during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Richmond, CA — Yesterday evening, the Sierra Club and San Francisco Baykeeper moved to intervene as full parties in the lawsuits to defend the City of Richmond’s ordinance that phases out the storage and handling of coal and petroleum coke in the city, and also filed an accompanying motion to dismiss the lawsuits. The environmental legal organization Earthjustice is representing both the Sierra Club and SF Baykeeper in court.
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.
LITTLE ROCK, AR -- Yesterday, the Louisiana Public Service Commission (PSC) approved Southwest Electric Power Company’s (SWEPCO) request to provide renewable wind energy to its customers. The approval could provide up to 464 MW of power for SWEPCO customers in Louisiana and up to 268 MW for customers in Arkansas. Arkansas and Oklahoma already approved the project. The wind energy will be distributed to Arkansas and Louisiana from wind farms in Oklahoma.
Sierra Club delivered a community letter to Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) to retire Rawhide coal plant by 2030 in its long-term energy planning. Every four years, PRPA conducts its Integrated Resource Plan, which develops the long-term plans for how PRPA will meet customers’ energy needs.
ATLANTA, GA - During Southern Company’s May 27th Annual Meeting of Stockholders, Tom Fanning, CEO, made an announcement that committed the company to “net zero” emissions by 2050. Along the way, the utility claimed it will cut its carbon emissions in half by 2030 based on a 2007 baseline.
Westmoreland Mining Holdings sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in federal court last Friday, after the Trump administration recently finalized changes that weaken the standards' legal underpinnings.
Concord, N.H.--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the water pollution permit for the Merrimack Station coal-fired power plant today, but failed to include critical water pollution protections that the agency had previously proposed. Unlike EPA’s prior proposal, the updated permit does not require the plant to install modern cooling-water upgrades.
This morning Alliant Energy announced that by the end of 2022 the utility plans to retire the last 380MW power generating unit at its Edgewater coal plant in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and transition to renewable energy. In addition to providing advance notice about retirement, Alliant pledged to provide career assistance and coaching to help prepare workers to transition into other jobs.
Trenton, New Jersey - Today, the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council will submit public comments to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, highlighting the burdensome costs and devastating climate consequences of the recent federal intervention in the PJM capacity market to prop up uneconomic fossil fuel generation and undercut clean energy in the region.
Sierra Club members and supporters overwhelmed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) on its first day of “virtual” hearings on the Trump Administration’s insufficient national soot standard proposal today, demanding stronger protections against deadly particulate matter.