Sierra Club Iowa Beyond Coal

The Climate Crisis in the Siouxland In the past year, there has been noticeable changes in the climate in the Siouxland area due to Big Ag and other corporate entities.

Yesterday, Sioux City residents urged City Council members to seek more air monitoring of MidAmerican’s nearby coal plants. We deserve to know the true cost of MidAmerican’s coal pollution!

🔔 NEW REPORT:

The Sierra Club just released an analysis that shows utilities are overwhelmingly lagging on their progress to retire coal and invest in renewable energy while doubling down on new gas.

Find out how your utility scored 👇

https://bit.ly/3zT9FDA

https://www.radioiowa.com/2024/10/01/study-iowa-sees-progress-toward-wind-and-solar-but-still-relies-too-much-on-coal/

“We clearly are already uniquely positioned, but if we aggressively take advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act, there are a lot of incentives and a lot of mechanisms,” Guyer says, “and by the way, these will last all the way through 2032, that can get us there.” - Iowa Environmental Council

Study: Iowa sees progress toward wind and solar but still relies too much on coal - Radio Iowa A report shows Iowa made significant strides in advancing renewable energy over the last two decades with wind and solar rising to 64-percent of Iowa’s electricity generation last year. Steve Guyer, the main author of the report for the Iowa Environmental Council, says the state’s utilities need...

Big thanks to the and Des Moines Water Works for kicking off Environmental Education Week with a very informative tour of our water treatment facilities here in central Iowa! It was a great reminder of how much hard work goes into making our water clean and drinkable and ways we can advocate for our natural resources.

"Steve Guyer, the energy policy counsel for Iowa Environmental Council, said Tuesday in a presentation about the report that renewable energy generation is cost competitive with fossil fuels.

“Even the lowest cost fossil source is higher than either wind or solar,” Guyer said in reference to a levelized cost of energy chart, produced by Lazard, a financial advisory firm. "

Report: Iowa ‘uniquely positioned’ to have carbon-free electricity by 2035 • Iowa Capital Dispatch The Iowa Environmental Council is calling on Iowa utilities to “aggressively” take advantage of federal clean energy programs.

A new report from the NRDC has shown that Iowa’s coal plants are getting in the way of more economic wind energy for customers, clogging up the grid with overpriced, dirty electricity.

The study found that the coal plants George Neal North and George Neal South drove the most wind curtailment on the grid during the times they operated uneconomically in 2021 to 2023. Losing $44 million on the backs of ratepayers.

Utilities are profiting off of uneconomic coal plant operations when communities can least afford it. This isn’t fair.

It’s time to retire these coal plants to protect Iowa customers, cut air pollution, and enable existing cheap wind to power more of our electric grid!

Read the full report from on the uneconomic cost of coal:

Uneconomic Coal Costs MISO Ratepayers $1 Billion and Curtails 400 MW of Wind New analysis from NRDC and Grid Strategies quantifies the renewable curtailment and emissions impact of running coal plants in the red.

1,400+ premature deaths. High asthma rates. More lung cancer. These are just a few of the impacts of MidAmerican’s coal pollution in Siouxland. Join Iowa Environmental Council at noon tomorrow (July 24th) to learn more about their report: bit.ly/julysiouxlandwebinar

Utilities across the country have announced plans to shut down their coal plants, due to rising costs and unreliability. But here in Iowa, MidAmerican is keeping us in the dark. So we have a simple question: What’s the plan, MidAm? Sign our new petition! https://bit.ly/3xz8CaM

Every Iowan deserves safe drinking water. But coal ash ponds threaten communities across the state. It's time for MidAmerican to stop burning coal, clean up their coal ash ponds, and fully transition to clean energy! Add your name: https://bit.ly/3PhRqg8

MidAmerican generated 23 percent of its power in 2022 by burning fossil fuels, according to the groups’ filing. But in a September 2023 press release, the utility said it delivered “100% renewable energy to serve its Iowa customers’ electricity usage last year.”

MidAmerican Energy’s renewable claims are misleading, green groups say The utility said it delivered 100 percent renewable energy to Iowa customers in 2022, despite coal use.

Wildlife lovers: Join us for our next webinar on May 23rd @ 6pm!

Northwest Iowa’s very own David Hoferer, Professor of Biology at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, will teach us how the climate crisis negatively impacts wildlife here in Iowa, and show us the different ways that we can mitigate those impacts.

Register now:

IA Sierra Club Webinar Series - Wildlife Corridors & the Climate Crisis Join us for an educational webinar on the impact of the climate crisis on wildlife. You'll hear from Northwest Iowas very own David Hoferer, Professor of Biology at Briar Cliff, about the importance of climate action and conservation to Iowas wildlife and

Did you catch us on the air with Iowa Public Radio this week?!

Latest Iowa News ↓ 📻 Get all of the day’s news from across Iowa. IPR reporters and our partners file the latest headlines throughout the day to keep you informed.

But it’s not too late to rally with us!

RSVP now to save your spot on the bus from Des Moines🚍

Link in bio 👆

Rally against fossil fuels with us this weekend! https://www.cleanupmidam.com/bhrally

We're gearing up to head to the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder meeting in Omaha this weekend to tell them LATER IS TOO LATE to divest from fossil fuels ⏰ 👏 Will you Join us?!

RSVP now for a FREE BUS w/ us from Des Moines 🚍
https://www.cleanupmidam.com/bhrally

Berkshire Hathaway owns and operates one of the largest fleets of coal plants in the country. Five of them are right here in Iowa, operated by MidAmerican Energy, with NO PLANS TO RETIRE THEM UNTIL *maybe* 2050! 🏭🚩

Join us to rally against these dangerous investments and call on Berkshire to invest in the future!

Clean Up MidAm Iowa Environmental Council Nebraska Chapter Sierra Club Nebraska Beyond Coal Iowa Chapter Sierra Club

What is the Dirty Truth on Berkshire Hathaway Energy?
Come find out at our webinar tomorrow!

RSVP: https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7013q000002Jp4EAAS&mapLinkHref=

MidAmerican Energy - Not So Iowa Nice | Iowa Interfaith Power and Light "We will not stand by as we watch MidAmerican and Berkshire executives disregard what we hold dear for the sake of money. We will speak up and call out ...

Looking forward to presenting to the Sierra Club Central Iowa group tonight!

Central Iowa Sierra Group Meeting
Wednesday, March 20, 7:00 p.m.
Beyond Coal Campaign Update
by Emma Colman
This month’s speaker is Emma Colman, Organizing Representative with Sierra Club’s Iowa Beyond Coal campaign. Emma will present on campaign updates and opportunities to get involved, including upcoming actions in Des Moines and Omaha.

Central Iowa Sierra Group meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. and are held at the Northwest Community Center, which is located at 5110 Franklin Avenue in Des Moines. The Center is just west of Franklin Library. If you have questions about the meeting place or the program, please contact Jane Clark at 515-223-5047 or [email protected] .