Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Gains in clean energy and emissions reductions are being stunted by the increasing demand for electricity from data centers, electrifying vehicles and industries, and reshoring manufacturing. Utilities are extending the life of obsolete and dirty coal plants and proposing new gas-burning plants, putting climate targets at risk.  

Christine, Tex. – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that the San Miguel Electric Cooperative in South Texas has been selected as a funding finalist for its proposal to build a large solar energy and battery storage project that will improve affordability and reliability and improve air and water quality for nearby rural communities.

FLORIDA – President Joe Biden announced today that Seminole Electric Cooperative’s application to construct and procure a combination of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage across rural portions of Florida was chosen as a finalist in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program. The New ERA program, authorized through the Inflation Reduction Act, is a competitive program to provide $9.7 billion in grants and loans to rural electric cooperatives. Today’s announcement identified 16 cooperatives, including Seminole, that collectively are expected to receive $7.3 billion. USDA expects this tranche of funding to drive $29 billion in large-scale clean energy investments across the country.

Wyoming – Today marks the conclusion of EPA’s public comment period on its proposal to partially disapprove Wyoming’s regional haze state implementation plan (SIP), meant to show progress towards reducing haze pollution that blurs iconic views in national parks and wilderness areas from Yellowstone National Park to Bridger Wilderness Area.

Phoenix, AZ – Today Sierra Club filed an appeal in Maricopa County Superior Court challenging the Arizona Corporation Commission’s unlawful June decision to eliminate environmental reviews for most new methane gas-fired power plants. 

 (View livestream)

 (View livestream) 

Salt Lake City, UT – In a major win for public health and the climate, yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized standards that will slash air, water, and carbon pollution from power plants to address their deadly and dangerous emissions.

Phoenix, AZ – In a hearing today, the Arizona Power Plant and Line Siting Committee voted 9-2 to deny Unisource Electric’s (UNSE) request that the utility’s planned 200 MW expansion of its Black Mountain Generating Station in Mohave County be exempted from obtaining a certificate of environmental compatibility (CEC), a process that requires weighing environmental impacts against the need for a power plant. The Committee’s vote upholds the requirement that new gas-fired power plants must undergo environmental review via the CEC process.

Today, the Biden administration finalized federal carbon pollution standards for new gas-fired power plants and–for the first time–existing coal-fired plants. One large project that could be impacted by the new rule is the proposed Dominion and Santee Cooper shared combined cycle methane gas plant.