People will breathe easier with closing of coal plants

Bill Knight column for 9-30, 10-1 or 2, 2019

It was a slap in the face but no shock when Texas-based Vistra Energy announced its closing of four somewhat modernized coal-burning power plants in downstate Illinois to meet terms of a deal negotiated with the state, but that the comparably filthy Edwards plant south of Peoria would stay open.

The REAL shock came Sept. 16, when environmental groups disclosed a proposed settlement of a 2013 lawsuit that will also close Edwards in three years.

The public will literally breathe a bit easier, as the shutdowns will cut millions of pounds of climate-changing carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide emissions annually.

Vistra last year became Illinois’ biggest producer of coal-burning electricity when it bought power plants from Dynegy Inc., but the coal industry faces dwindling customers and legal woes, like that six-year-old Clean Air Act lawsuit.

If approved by the Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, and Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO, which operates the regional power grid), the settlement would provide for retiring the Edwards plant by Dec. 31, 2022.

“After many years of hard work, our efforts have finally paid off,” said Ryan Hidden of the Heart of Illinois Sierra Club.

The market for coal-based energy isn’t sustainable. Moody’s Investor Service in August blamed economic, environmental and social factors in its “negative outlook for the North American coal industry. Profitability will worsen in the next 12-18 months.” Also, the country’s largest commercial insurer, Chubb, last month became the first U.S. insurance company to restrict coal insurance, announcing it “recognizes the reality of climate change [and] will not underwrite risks related to the construction and operation of new coal-fired plants.”

Final details of the Edwards settlement are expected by Oct. 3, but plaintiffs’ representatives say proposed terms include Vistra:

* setting aside $6.88 million for projects for public health or environmental projects that benefit Central Illinois, such as funding for electric buses, energy-efficiency improvements, solar-power projects, and programs to improve lung health;

* paying $3 million toward legal expenses; and

* providing $1.72 million for economic transition, mainly in job training at area schools and community organizations.

That provision is significant since other communities affected by Vistra shutdowns haven’t received such assurances, and 11 coal-fired power plants remain open in Illinois.

State Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria) says the state has an obligation to help those affected.

“As we transition to an energy economy that focuses on limiting emissions,” he said, “we must be proactive in helping communities that [closures] will adversely effect. If we know this is causing hardship, then we [need to] make sure we make up some of that difference. We have to make sure counties like Fulton County aren’t paying the price alone,”

Koehler says he and State Sen. Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) are drafting a bill addressing such shutdowns.

“We should ‘hold harmless’ taxing bodies, from counties to schools,” he says.

Legislation on the issue also has faced resistance from business for years.

Ten years ago, Illinois coal operators agreed to clean up or shut down by now, but corporations convinced regulators to extend deadlines. In 2017, ex-Gov. Bruce Rauner proposed making it easier to keep operating the dirtiest but less expensive coal plants, but current Gov. J.B. Pritzker dropped that after objections from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office and others.

Meanwhile, hundreds of green businesses, consumer-advocate organizations and environmental groups are promoting the Clean Energy Jobs Act, a bill funding assistance to laid-off workers and local governments losing lost revenue. Supporters the CEJA would boost energy efficiency, take advantage of better costs for solar and wind power, and enact market reforms to protect ratepayers from higher energy prices.

“Illinois needs to pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act as soon as possible,” says Heart of Illinois conservation chair Joyce Blumenshine. “It is the best pathway forward so for-profit corporations don't keep shifting more costs for public health and the environment on the public.”