Andy Gilbertson

March 23, 2007

On Monday, March 19, the Sierra Club and Kansas City Power and Light announced a deal in which the Sierra Club will withdraw its opposition to a new coal power plant, and the energy company would embark on a major effort to increase its use of renewable energy and energy conservation.

The dispute began in 2001 when the Kansas City Power and Light proposed building five new coal fired power plants. The Sierra Club responded with court challenges to the projects, and over the last six years the proposed projects dwindled to one. The remaining project, an 850-megawatt power plant in Weston, Missouri, has been under construction for seven months.

Under the agreement, Kansas City Power and Light agreed to lobby for legislative and regulatory changes to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2020, install 400 megawatts of wind power, and initiate programs to conserve 300 megawatts of electricity, including programs to help commercial and residential properties upgrade to more efficient lighting and air conditioning equipment. As for its current plants, the company agreed to reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from coal plants it currently operates and either upgrade or shut down an older coal power plant. The power company also agreed to establish net metering, which allows individuals who produce their own electricity to sell excess power back to the company.

In exchange, the Sierra Club has agreed to withdraw its opposition to the new coal power plant and drop pending suits claiming that the company's current power plants violate the Clean Air Act. The Sierra Club and Kansas City Power and Light will work together to encourage legislation that would allow the power company to recover money for energy that it saves, rather than solely for construction of new electric generation.

The parties agree this is a win-win agreement. Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club said "[i]t's a joint victory," while Michael J. Chesser, chief executive of the company that owns Kansas City Power and Light commented that once the parties started talking, it became clear that they had common objectives. The legally binding contract, the first of its kind in which a utility has agreed to fully offset carbon dioxide emissions from a new power plant, will run until 2015.

Sources:

Matthew L. Wald, Utility and Sierra Club Deal Aims to Cut Carbon Dioxide, N.Y. Times, Mar. 20, 2007, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/20/business/20energy.html.

Steven Mufson, Electric Utility, Sierra Club End Dispute, Wash. Post, Mar. 20, 2007, at D3, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/19/AR2007031901606.html.

Kansas City Power & Light, Environmental, Community Groups Announce Important Energy Agreement with Major Utility 1 (2007), http://www.greatplainsenergy.com/investor/NR_Mar20_07.pdf.

For More Information:

http://www.sierraclub.org/