Victory! Dynegy drops plans for new coal plants

A full post will be coming soon, but this is great news for the New Year -

Today Dynegy announced it was pulling out of its joint venture w/LS Power and abandoning development of new coal plants!

For nearly two years the Sierra Club, partner organizations like RAN, Public Citizen, and Coop America, and thousands of individuals around the country have worked tirelessly to stop Dynegy's plan to develop new coal plants.  Those efforts succeeded today. 

Sierra Club sues Dynegy coal plant

On Thursday the Sierra Club filed suit against a coal-fired power plant proposed in Texas by Dynegy, the worst new global warming polluter in the country.  The complaint points out that the Sandy Creek plant planned near Riesel, TX is violating the Clean Air Act by starting construction without a valid permit for hazardous air pollutants such as mercury.  Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can affect the brain of a developing child.  Texas has been the source of ground-breaking research linking mercury to autism and has more mercury pollution than any other state in the country. 

More than four years ago plant officials, when confronted by local residents concerned about mercury pollution in their area, said they would ensure the plant complied with the law.  They have gone back on their promises. 

Also today Bruce Williamson, CEO of Dynegy, spoke at a conference.  We'll have a link to the presentation and some analysis tomorrow!

Dynegy's coal plants put taxpayers, ratepayers at risk

The Sierra Club today voiced its concern that consumers could be faced with higher electric bills if the federal government continues to approve unsound investments in new coal-fired power plants across the nation, especially two plants proposed by Dynegy in Texas and Arkansas.  Check out the full press release and some highlights below:

"In the past weeks families across the country have already seen their energy rates increase dramatically, in some cases almost double," said Bruce Nilles, director of the Sierra Club’s National Coal Campaign. "Approving these plants will push rates even higher as both the cost of energy and the additional debt are pushed off on ratepayers."

Environmental impacts play an integral role in a utility’s ability to repay its loans, a fact recognized by the nation’s largest banks, which already consider the cost of carbon dioxide pollution before granting loans. Other parts of the federal government, including the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have also recognized the financial risks associated with failing to account for the cost of global warming pollution from new coal plants. The Committee has warned the Rural Utilities Service that future carbon regulations will make coal increasingly costly and that failing to consider those costs will place taxpayer dollars and ratepayers at risk.

"It is irresponsible to approve investments in new coal-fired power plants without considering the environmental and financial risks.  The Rural Utilities Service is placing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in serious jeopardy," said Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

 

Dynegy coal plant stopped in its tracks

Today is our first day on the new www.cleanupdynegy.org blog system, and we’ve got just about the best news of the campaign so far to launch it.  

Dynegy’s proposed coal plant in Georgia has been halted! 

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore invalidated the air quality permit, citing everything from the Supreme Court’s ruling that carbon dioxide is a pollutant to the health effects of fine particulate matter and other toxic pollutants.  

“The Clean Air Act was enacted by Congress to protect public health—and with Judge Moore’s decision that is what is finally going to happen here in Georgia.  Our state can find other ways to produce cleaner, more economically beneficial energy,” said Patty Durand, Georgia Chapter Director of the Sierra Club. “Other states are doing it.  Why can’t we?”

This decision could influence air quality permitting decisions across the country, including every one of Dynegy’s six proposed coal plants. This is the first judicial decision on a coal plant in the country to use last year's Supreme Court ruling declaring carbon dioxide a pollutant under the Clean Air Act.  Such a major decision coming against the worst new polluter in the country is big news indeed.   

Coming Soon!

State-by-state information is coming soon. For now, you can contact your local organizer to get involved!