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.
Montgomery County, MD - Late last week, GenOn Holdings announced the scheduled deactivation of the Dickerson coal-fired power plant in August of this year. GenOn’s decision provides only 90 days notice to impacted workers and communities at a time when tens of thousands of Marylanders are dealing with unemployment challenges and counties are making tough budgetary decisions. The 60-year old Dickerson plant is one of six large plants in Maryland still burning coal and facing the declining economics of fossil fuels.
DENVER— Conservation groups sued Arch Coal today over illegal pollution at the company’s West Elk coal mine in western Colorado. The mine is the single-largest industrial source of methane pollution in the state.
Charleston, WV -- Today, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC), and the Sierra Club filed a notice of intent to sue the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) for its mismanagement of the Special Reclamation Fund (SRF), and its related failure to comply with federal reporting requirements. The SRF was established to reclaim and clean up recently abandoned coal mines. The groups sending the notice letter are represented by attorneys with Appalachian Mountain Advocates and Public Justice.
RICHMOND, VA - Today, Dominion Energy filed its Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) with Virginia’s State Corporation Commission. The IRP is a sweeping projection of future energy demand and how the utility plans to meet the commonwealth’s energy needs.