Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that the United States should stop closing any more coal plants. This suggestion is both costly for American families and dangerous to the country’s public health.
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that the United States should stop closing any more coal plants. This suggestion is both costly for American families and dangerous to the country’s public health.
In his statement, Wright falsely claims that retiring coal plants has made “electricity more expensive and our grid less stable.” The truth is 99 percent of coal plants are more expensive to operate than wind or solar sources in the same region. Renewable energy is also more resilient than coal, especially in regions where coal plant failures have left families without power when they needed it most.
Pollution from coal-fired power plants causes an increased risk of heart attacks, respiratory illnesses, cancer, and premature death. In the last two decades, coal pollution has killed nearly half a million Americans.
Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign , since its foundation in 2009, has successfully secured 389 coal plant retirements with the help of a broad coalition of partners and organizations dedicated to retiring coal in the U.S.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous issued the following statement:
“Coal kills. Coal endangers our health. Propping up coal steals money from our pockets. Chris Wright is flat out wrong in suggesting that more Americans should pay higher energy bills for less reliable energy. He is suggesting that Americans should breathe in more polluted air, and suffer from more asthma attacks and heart attacks. He is suggesting that we cling to the past rather than striving for a cleaner, healthier future.
“It is ludicrous, and dangerous, that Chris Wright would suggest halting the progress that we have made to retire coal and clean up our air and water. In the last decade, not one new coal plant has been built in our country, while nearly 400 coal plants have retired or are scheduled to retire. It is clear that we have moved beyond the need for dirty, costly coal.
“The Sierra Club will never back down as we continue our fight to protect our health, protect our lives, and protect our communities as we move America beyond coal.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org .
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