Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign

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Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign

• Presentation to the
• Northwest Power and Conservation Council
• July 15, 2009
• Dan Ritzman, Western Regional Director

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Presentations

• Conservation panel
• Dan Ritzman, Sierra Club
• Lisa Adatto, Climate Solutions
• Catherine Thomasson, Physicians forSocial
  Responsibility
• Guest presenter
• Mark Buckley, Senior Economist, ECO Northwest

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Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign

• No new coal plants
• End destructive mining practices
• Put existing coal plants on retirement path

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Coal Free Northwest

• Retire in-region coal plants
• Replace imported coal electricity

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Sierra Club and Citizen Engagement
Thousands rally for Clean Air, No Coal at EPA
Endangerment Finding Hearing
Seattle May 2009
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Citizens Across Northwest Speak Out

• Billings, MT, conference on phasing out coal
  ushering in clean energy and clean energy jobs

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Clean energy goals for 6th Power Plan

• Sierra Club supports
• Vision statement reduced use of coal will be
  required to meet carbon emission reduction
  goals.
• Full accounting for carbon
• 1,400 aMW of efficiency for the 5-year plan
• Strong efficiency and renewables for the 20-year
  plan

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1. Keep coal in the vision statement

• to reduce or even stabilize CO2 production
  beyond 2005 will likely require replacing
  existing coal-fired power plants with low
  CO2-emitting resources.
• -- NW Power Planning and
• Conservation Council
• NWPPC Global warming in the NW
• http//www.nwcouncil.org/library/2007/2007-15.
  pdf

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2. Support full accounting for carbon

• We can no longer afford to ignore the real costs
  of climate damage. The cost should include cost
  of adaptation and repair, not just emission
  reductions
• We strongly support a cost for Carbon in the 6th
  plan. Current cost of 47 per ton by 2030 is too
  low and should be strengthened.

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3. Five-year plan maximize efficiency

• Set 1,400 aMW target now to maximize energy
  efficiency for the 20-year plan
• Fastest, most reliable, least expensive energy
  source, creates the most jobs
• 280 aMW per year, starting lower and ramping up
• In 2008, region achieve 235 aMW overreaching
  the regional goals.

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4. 20-year plan strong efficiency, renewable
goals

• Set 5,800 aMW efficiency (build off 1,400 goal
  for short-term)
• Maintain and strengthen RPS
• Assume RPS achieved in states
• Lead the region, states and utilities in ramping
  up renewable investments
• Signal to strengthen, not weaken, RPS in states

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Scientists call for more aggressive action NW
in danger of falling behind

• Climate Change odds much worse than thought.
• MIT News Office, May 19, 2009
• At least 35 below 1990 levels by 2020.
• Schneider, Oppenheimer, Lovejoy et alletter to
  Congress, March 2009
• IPCC calls for 25-40 below 1990 levels by 2020
• Regional governments only 15-20 below current
  levels we need to do more

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Science Opposes Coal

• Atmospheric CO2 can be successfully constrained
  only if coal use is phased out
• - Dr. James Hansen
• NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies

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(No Transcript)
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Coal Hazards Beyond CO2

• Mining
• Water quality
• Waste materials fly ash (Colstrip
  contamination), slurry
• Air emissions soot, haze, nitrous oxide, sulfur
  dioxide, mercury dozens of other hazardous air
  toxins

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As proposed, the TransAlta plant would cause the
greatest visibility impact to our national parks
and wilderness areas of any coal fired power
plant across the United States. National Parks
Service, Seattle Times, April 7, 2009
Its Americas only national scenic area. But the
Columbia River Gorge has some of the worst air
pollution of any rural area in the WestOne major
source of gorge haze is Portland General
Electrics coal-fired plant east of the Columbia
River Gorge National Scenic Area in Boardman,
Ore. The Columbian September 26, 2007
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A single gram of mercury
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has the ability to contaminate 20 acres of lake
over time

• Centralia alone has the ability to contaminate 9
  million acres of lake annually.

Courtesy of NPS
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Good News The Solution

• Green/Clean Energy Economy could bring more than
  60,000 jobs to the region in the next decade.

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6th Power Plan a new mandate

• Historically, the power plans are focused on
  meeting new load growth
• Now the Council must aggressively pursue
  replacing existing fossil resources, especially
  coal, with efficiency and renewables
• Never has the urgency for action been so clear
• Never has the work of the Power Council been so
  important