Stopping the Coal Rush – Map of Challenges (and Victories!)

Here’s a great resource I just stumbled across (hat tip to Alex Tinker). Sierra Club has compiled a Google Map (Google Earth version available too) of 138 proposed coal-fired power plants in the United States.

Clicking each icon brings up lots of information on the proposed plant: when/where it was proposed, how big it is, where it’s at in permitting/planning process, what actions have been taken against it, etc.

At first look, this map is frightening: 138 coal plants practically covering the map of the US. But after poking around and looking at a few of the proposed projects, one thing is clear: there are amazing and courageous organizations – Western Resource Advocates, Montana Environmental Information Center, Sierra Club, NRDC, Southern Energy Network, Rainforest Action Network, Global Exchange, Greenpeace, and many many more – fighting each and every one of these plants. Youth activists are at the forefront of many of these fights.

And guess what: we’re winning!

Many of these projects have stalled, been rejected by courts or regulators or simply withdrawn after public opposition.

But we’ve got to keep up the fight.

The sheer number of these proposals means we must be ever vigilant and resolute in our efforts to block the development of dirty, carbon-spewing power plants at the same time that we work to shift our nation’s priorities away from our dependence on dirty and depleting fossil fuels and towards a sustainable, just, and prosperous energy future.

Keep at ‘em!

About Jesse

Jesse Jenkins is an energy and climate policy analyst, advocate, and blogger. Jesse is currently the Director of Energy and Climate Policy at the Breakthrough Institute in Oakland, California, where he works to develop and advance new energy solutions to power America's future, secure our energy freedom, and halt global warming. He joined Breakthrough in June 2008 and previously directed the Breakthrough Generation fellowship program for young clean energy leaders. Jesse worked previously as a Research and Policy Associate at the Renewable Northwest Project in Portland, OR, helping to advance the development of the Pacific Northwest's abundant renewable energy potential. A prolific author and blogger on clean energy issues, Jesse is the founder and chief editor of WattHead - Energy News and Commentary, a member of the blogger board at the Energy Collective and policy editor at Its Getting Hot In Here. Jesse is a co-founder of the youth-led Cascade Climate Network, a board member of Focus the Nation and a graduate of the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon.

2 Responses to “Stopping the Coal Rush – Map of Challenges (and Victories!)”

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1 angeline3 Nov 22nd, 2007 at 1:48 am

To meet the IPCC carbon emissions goals, carbon emissions must peak in 2012. This means that every power plant built after 2012 must be carbon free and some carbon-emitting plants must have early retirements.

I think it is awesome that we are making so much headway in preventing more coal plants from coming online; hopefully we can phase out coal plants by 2012.

But I know that in some cases, even after a hard fight, the coal plants will be built. On the bright side, most new coal plants are incredibly more efficient than their predecessors. So if we can at least convince the power companies to close old coal plants in exchange for newer, more efficient ones, we would be moving in the right direction. Has anyone tried this approach?