FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2012
Contact: Claire Orphan, 312.251.1680 x146
Downtown Milwaukee Plant to go Coal Free
Utility Responds to Community Pressure to Clean Up Valley Coal Plant.
Milwaukee, WI - This morning, WE Energies in Wisconsin said that it plans to cease burning coal at its Menomonee Valley Coal Plant. This action has the potential to significantly improve Milwaukee's air quality and the health of its residents by reducing dangerous air pollution. Sierra Club, as part of the Cleaner Valley Coalition, worked with an incredible group of local community organizations to clean up the dirty Valley plant. WE Energies announced that they will convert the Valley Coal Plant to natural gas.
“We applaud the decision to end coal burning in Milwaukee,” said Bruce Nilles, Senior Campaign Director for the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign. “This is one of the state’s dirtiest power plants and ending coal burning will mean immediate health benefits to the thousands of residents downwind of this plant.”
Milwaukee is consistently given failing grades for its air quality. Approximately 480,000 people live within five miles of the plant and suffer the worst consequences of the plant’s pollution. Furthermore, Valley lacks modern pollution controls and is a significant source of soot and smog, which are linked to serious health problems like asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes.
For the City of Milwaukee in 2010, both hospital and emergency department asthma visits were two times the state rate. In the 8 zip codes surrounding the Valley coal plant they were almost three times the state rate. In 2011 the cost of hospitalizations for asthma, coronary heart disease and stroke was more than $65.7 million for the community surrounding the Valley coal plant. (Source: Wisconsin Department of Health)
“Our community has been paying for We Energies’ coal plant pollution,” said Juan Carlos Ruiz, Chair of the Cleaner Valley Coalition. “But working together, with thousands of petitions and hundreds of people at hearing after hearing, with constant pressure and organizing, we got We Energies to commit to transitioning the Valley Plant off of coal.”
According to a statement from WE Energies, the company plans to file an application with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin for approval to modify the plant to burn natural gas. If approved, the conversion will be completed in 2015 or 2016. WE Energies has also announced its intentions of a transition plan for their current employees.
“We are happy that WE Energies is minimizing the impact on their employees through reassignment,” said Nilles. “We hope that the company will continue to build the local economy and support the community by setting a bold path for the future with clean energy investments that support the health and economy of Wisconsin.”
The Sierra Club has been working with Cleaner Valley Coalition, a broad and diverse coalition that has asked WE Energies to clean up the Valley coal plant in the Menomonee Valley and ensure it complies with the latest health standards as soon as possible.
"This is great news for the people of Milwaukee and another important victory for the Beyond Coal Campaign,” added Nilles. “We are clearly witnessing the end of our dependency on coal and the move toward a cleaner energy future."
The Beyond Coal campaign aims to replace dirty, polluting coal-fired power plants with clean energy like wind and solar power. The campaign, in conjunction with allies around the country, has stopped more than 179 coal plants from breaking ground, and the number of planned retirements continues to grow as the nation transitions to a clean energy future.
For more information about the Sierra Club’s campaign to move beyond coal, please visit: http://www.beyondcoal.org
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