Duke Energy to reduce coal use

A group of Indiana environmental agencies, including the Sierra Club, Citizens Action Coalition, Valley Watch and Save the Valley, recently announced a legal settlement against Duke Energy.

The settlement will force Duke’s Wabash River power plant in Vigo County to stop burning coal and instead pursue new renewable energy sources.

“While today’s settlement is a step in the right direction, more must be done to ensure that Hoosier families are protected from rising energy bills and the enormous health threats posed by Indiana’s reliance on coal-fired power plants,” Jodi Perras, Indiana campaign representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, said in a press
release. “Hoosiers want clean, renewable energy and local jobs. Duke Energy and other electric utilities need to step into the 21st century and continue to move beyond coal.”

According to the Clean Air Task Force, a national organization working to combat climate change, the Wabash River plant is a factor in 74 deaths, 110 heart attacks and 1,200 asthma attacks each year.

— Sydney Murray