A NOTE FROM CONSERVATION Co-CHAIR JANE FELDMAN:
April 3, 2008
You are a part of our success story.
Thank you for the post cards, phone calls and letters to the editors.
You are making a difference felt across the nation. (Wait until their shareholders meeting in May!!!)
- Jane
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This went out yesterday in response to comments Bruce Williamson from Dynegy made in an interview with Bloomberg.
- ginny
Virginia Cramer
Associate Press Secretary
Sierra Club
tel: 804-225-9113 x 102
Dynegy Shows Signs of Hesitation in Plans to Build Coal Plants
Environmentalists Gain Critical Momentum
The campaign spearheaded by Sierra Club pressuring Houston-based Dynegy, Inc. to move away from its proposed coal-fired power plants picks up momentum today with some candid words spoken by Dynegy CEO Bruce Williamson. In an interview with Bloomberg, Williamson states that “environmental opposition is making it more time-consuming to build coal-fueled plants…that's making it tougher to align the elements of a project that have to come together at the same time: prices, financing, approvals and construction costs, which are escalating.”
Williamson continues on to state: “I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a lull in new plant development.''
These words show a clear success on the part of the Sierra Club and others, which just launched the campaign to stop Dynegy’s proposed plants less than two months ago. The campaign has been focused in the states where Dynegy is in the process of permitting or building new coal-fired power plants: Texas, Iowa, Nevada, Georgia, Arkansas, and Michigan. The Sierra Club and other environmental groups around the country are urging Dynegy to invest in clean energy like wind and solar power instead of highly-polluting coal.
Williamson’s words build strong momentum for the Sierra Club campaign.
“Dynegy clearly is beginning to understand that the issue of global warming can no longer be ignored,” stated Bruce Nilles, director of the Sierra Club’s National Coal Campaign. “Consumers, investors and shareholders are demanding cleaner energy.”
Another sign of progress came last month, when Dynegy shareholders filed a successful resolution obliging the company to disclose all global warming emissions by the end of 2008 along with a plan for future emissions reductions.
“Building these coal plants would lock us into 50 more years of backwards, polluting technology,” said Nilles. “Dynegy has a real opportunity to grab hold of the clean energy niche and make a name for itself that will benefit its reputation and bottomline, rather than one that will only hurt its position with consumers and in the energy marketplace.”
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