Audubon and Sierra Club announced a legal settlement with Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), a subsidiary of American Electric Power (AEP), that phases out Welsh 2, a dirty coal plant upwind of Arkansas in Northeastern Texas, provides hundreds of megawatts of new clean energy for the region, secures $10 million for land conservation and energy-efficiency advocacy, and limits development of additional plants and transmission lines. The settlement brings to an end a four-year high-profile public battle over the construction of the Turk coal-fired power plant in Southwest Arkansas.
“Two words: cleaner air. That’s what this agreement will deliver. It requires the nation’s largest coal burner to retire one of its dirtiest plants and it funds conservation of wetlands and forests for Arkansans. Just as important, it increases SWEPCO’s use of renewable wind and solar energy in a part of the country that trails other regions,” said David Yarnold, Audubon President & CEO.
“While we’d prefer that the Turk plant not be built, today’s settlement brings some very good news for Arkansas, which would not have been possible without years of citizen opposition to dirty coal plants,” said Glen Hooks, with Sierra Club. “By retiring the aging and polluting coal plant in Northeast Texas, we will significantly reduce air pollution coming into Arkansas. Protecting Arkansans from coal pollution is our top priority.”
The settlement, focused on offsetting the new Turk plant’s total emissions, requires SWEPCO to install 400 megawatts of clean energy, and further accelerates the region’s transition away from coal. Sierra Club and Audubon will continue to work with AEP in seeking other emissions reductions within the AEP system companies.
“Energy efficiency also puts money in the pockets of struggling families and businesses in Arkansas,” Yarnold said. “This deal includes $2 million to support expansion of energy conservation programs in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas. And once those folks start seeing that money in their pockets, they’ll want to conserve their way to even more savings.”
The agreement prohibits the siting of energy transmission lines in sensitive natural areas, including the Nacatoches Ravines Natural Area and the Little River and Bois d’Arc Wildlife Management Areas, adjacent to the Grassy Lake Audubon Important Bird Area. SWEPCO will also be required to provide $8 million for the conservation of priority landscapes, replacing many times over the amount of habitat affected by the Turk plant. The Nature Conservancy will be the recipient of these funds.
“We look forward to working with our colleagues at The Nature Conservancy to increase healthy habitat for birds, including endangered species like the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, as well as to provide opportunities for people to enjoy visiting Arkansas’s natural areas,” said Ellen Fennell, Vice President & State Executive Director, Audubon Arkansas.
SWEPCO will be required to reduce its use of the Welsh 2 unit in Texas as soon as Turk starts operations, and then retire the coal unit as soon as feasible, with a firm deadline of 2016. Because Welsh 2 lacks pollution controls, taking this plant offline will offset Turk’s emissions of soot, smog, particulates, and toxics several times over. In addition, tightened monitoring of Turk’s operations will help protect Arkansas residents from other environmental impacts, including coal waste and effluent. SWEPCO has also agreed not to develop additional coal units at the Turk site or near it, which will protect Arkansans from the threat of additional pollution.
Dawn Farver, Chair of the Arkansas Chapter of the Sierra Club, stated that, “Because of the efforts of our hardworking and dedicated volunteers, we have gained significant resources to invest in renewable energy and improving energy efficiency, as well as commitments to shut down an aging, dirty coal plant that contributes numerous pollutants to the air Arkansans breathe.”
The retirements included in today’s settlement are part of a clear national trend of moving away from dirty coal and toward cleaner sources of energy. Since last year, more than ten percent of the existing coal-burning plants have been scheduled for retirement. Today’s announcement adds another 558 megawatts of old coal to that total and will displace even more coal usage with this major investment in clean energy. Welsh 2 would be one of the largest and comparatively youngest coal units to be retired this decade, creating a precedent for more near-term retirements.
“Safe, clean energy promotes health, prosperity, and freedom from dirty, dangerous coal. With the settlement’s new major clean energy project, Arkansas is joining other states already shifting to clean, healthy, and safe renewable energy,” said Lev Guter with Sierra Club. “We hope that AEP and SWEPCO will prioritize a just transition for all workers during this process.”
Sierra Club and Audubon wish to also recognize the outstanding work and support of outside counsel, without whom this victory would not have been possible. Many thanks to Richard Mays (Mays & White, Heber Springs, AR), Ilan Levin (Environmental Integrity Project) and David Frederick of Austin, TX.
More information can be found at http://www.sierraclub.org/coal/ar/resources.
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