FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Contact: Emily Rosenwasser, 312-251-1680 x119, Emily.Rosenwasser@sierraclub.org
Joshua Low, 612-234-5569, Joshua.Low@sierraclub.org
Sierra Club Applauds Public Health Victory in
Rochester as Silver Lake Moves Beyond Coal
ROCHESTER, MN
– In a victory for clean energy and clean air, Rochester Public Utilities (RPU)
announced plans today to retire the dirty Silver Lake coal plant by the end of
2015. The
plant’s retirement is a major victory for Minnesota’s economy and public
health, as reducing the number of coal-fired power plants will both curb
harmful emissions and pave the way for clean air and clean jobs in Rochester.
The RPU's decision to retire the Silver Lake facility comes as the plant
faces pressure for putting soot and mercury into Rochester’s air and
failing to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s clean air health
safeguards.
“This is part of a trend of
victories for health and a clean energy future,” said Ray Schmitz, Rochester
resident and Sierra Club member since 1972. “Dirty, old coal-fired power plants
are no longer able to meet clean air safeguards and compete with clean energy
sources like wind and energy efficiency.”
"As a community leader I care about the
social, economic, and environmental sustainability of our community,” said
Michael Wojcik, RPU board member. “This is a rare decision that can improve all
three of these legs of sustainability. It is important to the health and
financial well-being of Rochester families that the Rochester Public Utilities
board makes the correct decisions for this facility."
RPU’s Silver Lake facility is
the latest in a string of 114 coal plants across the country to opt out of coal
burning due to higher fuel costs and stronger health safeguards. Last year,
Xcel Energy announced plans to stop burning coal at its Black Dog plant in
Burnsville, MN and converted both its metro area coal plants - Minneapolis’s
Riverside and St. Paul’s High Bridge - to natural gas in 2009. Dairyland
Electric Coop announced retirements of three coal units along the Mississippi
River last month.
The cost to purchase coal to
burn at Silver Lake is almost double Rochester Public Utility’s anticipated
prices ($4.62 per mmBtu vs. $2.35 per mmBtu). The Silver Lake facility’s
boilers have not been able to compete with natural gas and wind on the energy
market and operated only 257 hours in 2011, compared to 16,665 hours in 2005.
Despite its decreasing operation, the Silver Lake facility emitted dangerous
levels of sulfur dioxide into the air in Rochester, putting residents at risk
of asthma attacks, severe respiratory problems, lung disease and heart
complications.
“This is very exciting news for Rochester
families,” said Dr. Barbara Yawn, MD MSc, asthma expert and family physician at
the Olmsted Medical Center in Rochester. “The decision to decommission the
Silver Lake power plant meets both the health and economic needs of those
living in and around our community.”
RPU faces less demand for
energy than originally forecasted in part due to energy efficiency and
conservation programs cutting more than 45 megawatts of projected energy needed
over the past decade – the equivalent of the capacity at Silver Lake’s #4 coal
boiler.
RPU will need to plan for new
energy supply by 2030. Communities like San Antonio, TX are already
demonstrating how smart investments can save ratepayers money while providing
them with clean energy. CPS Energy, San Antonio’s municipal electric company,
recently announced plans to build 400 MW of solar, and many utilities are
considering expanding solar investments as the price of solar drops every year.
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