Newsroom For Tag "coal"

New health report finds increased lung disease in Iowa coal communities

posted 5/7/2024
A new report from the Iowa Environmental Council examines the relationship between pollution from coal plants and lung disease in Woodbury County. Written in partnership with public health experts "Coal in Siouxland: MidAmerican Energy's Legacy of Air Pollution and Health Impacts" highlights how two coal-fired power plants plants in northwest Iowa operated by MidAmerican Energy harm the health of residents in Siouxland, the multi-state, three county region surrounding Sioux City, IA.

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IEC comments on new EPA coal plant pollution rules

posted 4/25/2024
EPA released new rules regarding coal plant pollution today (4/25). IEC is now analyzing the details of the rules, but in a statement today commend EPA for their recognition of coal plant pollution and its harms to Iowans.

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MidAmerican Energy announces 100% clean energy; still runs six coal plants

posted 10/19/2023
MidAmerican Energy recently released a news statement claiming to have served Iowans with 100% renewable energy in 2022. The news release did not mention the six coal plants that MidAmerican Energy owns and operates in Iowa. IEC and Clean Up MidAm partners shed light on the reality of MidAm's clean energy generation.

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IUB's ruling on Wind PRIME protects customers from risk

posted 5/1/2023
The Iowa Utilities Board issued an order on April 27 setting conditions for MidAmerican Energy's ability to move forward with its Wind PRIME project. The Board approved the project but found that MidAmerican should bear the risk of the $3.9 billion project underperforming and placed strict conditions on the utility's right to recover the project costs from customers.

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Environmental groups applaud Iowa Supreme Court decision on MidAmerican coal plant economics

posted 4/28/2023
IEC, ELPC, and Sierra Club are celebrating the Iowa Supreme Courts ruling in favor of the groups' position in a challenge to an Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) order that limited its ability to review the cost-effectiveness of MidAmerican Energy's coal plants. The court reversed the Board's order and sent the case back to the IUB.

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IEC and ELPC Oppose MidAmerican Plan to Dump Toxins in Missouri River

posted 4/12/2023
Environmental groups submitted comments to MidAmerican Energy opposing a plan for the utility to dump toxic coal ash leachate into the Missouri River. The leachate, runoff that collects at the bottom of the site's coal ash landfill, contains dozens of toxic pollutants, including mercury, lead, arsenic, cyanide, and other toxic heavy metals.

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Newly published MidAmerican studies reveal costly inconsistencies in clean energy transition

posted 2/20/2023
In response to an IUB order, MidAmerican Energy filed new public versions of two internal studies that show solar is the lowest cost path for achieving carbon free energy and acknowledge that transitioning away from burning coal is an essential piece of achieving this goal. These studies come to light as a hearing for the approval or denial of MidAmerican's $3.9 billion Wind PRIME project gets underway at the IUB.

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MidAmerican delays study release following board order

posted 2/8/2023
IEC and partners submitted a response to an objection by MidAmerican Energy to the Iowa Utilities Board order to make internal studies public.

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IEC and groups applaud order to make MidAmerican studies public

posted 1/25/2023
On January 19, the Iowa Utilities Board issued an order in MidAmerican Energy's Wind PRIME proceeding to make public two generation planning studies MidAmerican has aggressively and repeatedly sought to keep secret from regulators and the public. The studies include an evaluation of the economics of MidAmerican's coal generating facilities and the a study of pathways to achieve zero carbon emissions electricity.

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Environmental groups propose alternative to MidAmerican's Wind PRIME

posted 11/22/2022
MidAmerican Energy is Iowa's largest carbon polluter. IEC and our partners filed testimony showing that a balanced portfolio of reliable clean energy would meet Iowa's energy demands and allow MidAmerican to retire its coal plants – protecting the health and environmental future for all Iowans.

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