As part of its longstanding commitment to protecting the environment of the Great Lakes region, the Joyce Foundation has committed $7 million over three years to reduce the air and water pollution caused by burning coal and promote new technology for Midwest coal plants that can curtail climate change and pollution. The next phase of the struggle for cleaner coal may take place in Big Stone, South Dakota. Big Stone houses a conventional pulverized coal-fired power plant that has proposed a major expansion that would more than double the amount of global warming pollution it currently emits. With a $300,000 grant to the Izaak Walton League of America, Joyce is supporting a number of groups that are fighting the expansion of the plant.
The League and its partners will engage in extensive public outreach and present evidence in an attempt to convince regulators to reject the proposal in favor of a portfolio of clean energy alternatives, including coal gasification with carbon capture and storage, energy efficiency and renewable energy. Although it is in South Dakota, its proximity to Minnesota means both states must approve the project before it can go forward. A decision is expected by the end of the year.
“This proposal is the largest new source of air emissions leading to global warming that we’ve seen in the upper Midwest region in the last 20 years,” says William Grant, the Izaak Walton League’s associate executive director. “There are implications beyond this. This case could set a precedent throughout the region.”
The movement toward cleaner coal is gaining momentum. At this year’s State of the Union address, President Bush announced that his administration would place a renewed emphasis on clean-energy research, stating, among other initiatives, “we will invest more in zero-emission coal-fired plants.” Governor Jim Doyle has convened a working group to consider advancing coal gasification in Wisconsin. Illinois is funding research into three different coal gasification technologies. Two Ohio utilities, American Electric Power and Cinergy, have announced plans to proceed with coal gasification projects.
William Grant, Izaak Walton League, 651.649.1446, www.iwla.org
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