Press Releases

ATLANTA, GA —The state’s Public Service Commission today failed consumers by approving Georgia Power’s proposal to finish Plant Vogtle, a slipshod nuclear project plagued by multi-year construction delays, bankruptcy, and a cost that has ballooned to more than $25 billion.

This afternoon, Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) chose not to vote to accelerate the closure of the Martin Drake coal plant, located downtown. Despite strong public and business support for early closure, the CSU Board said they need more details about the costs of operating the aging coal plant even as other cities and utilities throughout the country have begun transitioning to new, clean energy generation.

A new report demonstrates that two power plants operated by Entergy, the largest utility in Arkansas, are emitting enough pollution to make the unhealthy ozone smog problems worse in the St. Louis area. The report shows that smog-forming emissions from the Entergy White Bluff and Independence coal plants are elevating ozone levels by more than 4 times the amount public health agencies qualify as significant amount. Moreover, the plants are significantly impacting St. Louis ozone levels around 22 days per summer. These dangerous emissions of smog causing Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) could be reduced by 98% or more by installing Selective Catalytic Reduction, a widely used pollution control that has been around for more than 20 years.

This is more smoke and mirrors than an actual commitment to get off dirty fossil fuels, reduce climate pollution and meet our state’s climate goals. Puget Sound Energy is likely to exceed this commitment under the status quo, as previous commitments to retire some of its dirty coal plants go ahead in the coming years.

Durham, NC - An ambitious new audio series released today by Sierra Club covers the real consequences of fossil fuels and climate change in the American South -- with a hopeful vision for the region’s future.

Students, community members, and environmental advocates are rallied today at Brescia University to highlight the need for stronger national conversations and commitments to protect the environment.

BONN, GERMANY -- Today, Canada and the UK announced the Powering Past Coal Alliance in partnership with 25 other governments from around the world. The alliance -- comprised of Alberta, Angola, Austria, Belgium, British Columbia, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, El Salvador, Fiji, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Ontario, Oregon, Portugal, Quebec, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vancouver, and Washington state -- has announced the goal of moving OECD countries beyond coal by 2030 and by 2050 for the rest of the world. Their aim is to have 50 members by the 2018 UN climate negotiations and will be open for businesses to join.

Kentucky Utilities announced today that it will retire two of its three coal-fired units located at the E.W. Brown coal plant near Herrington Lake in Harrodsburg. Advocates including Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, and Kentucky Waterways Alliance have worked for years with local communities to curb dangerous air and water pollution from the plant.

Navajo, regional and national conservation groups today filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to continue their challenge of a 25-year extension of coal operations at Four Corners Power Plant and Navajo Mine. They appealed a decision from Arizona’s federal district court dismissing their case. The groups are challenging the Department of the Interior’s extension for violating the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.

A new coalition is launching a joint effort today to urge 28 European countries to dramatically accelerate their transition away from coal and toward clean, renewable energy. With the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Finland, France, Italy and Portugal committing to closing their remaining coal plants in the coming decade, Europe Beyond Coal is working to making this transition to a healthier world as swift as possible. Leaders of a sister campaign in the US, the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, welcomed the news.