Wind and solar development create manufacturing and technical jobs, rural economic development and pollution-free energy. The Environmental Law & Policy Center’sSolar and Wind Energy Supply Chain report shows that Michigan is home to 241 clean energy technology supply chain businesses and 10,000 related jobs.

Michigan is a solar business leader with companies including Patriot Solar Group (Albion), which manufactures trackers for solar panel installations, and Hemlock Semiconductor(Hemlock), one of the world’s largest manufacturers of polycrystalline silicon for solar cells and modules. Some of Michigan’s old-line manufacturing companies like Dowding Industries – Astraeus Wind Energy (Eaton Rapids) are re-tooling to supply growing markets for clean energy equipment.

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Earlier this year, the company agreed to retire the Chicago coal plants in response to a 10 year grassroots campaign by a coalition of community, health, and environmental organizations. According to agreements signed by Midwest Generation, the Clean Power Coalition, and the City of Chicago, the Fisk coal plant must shut down in 2012 and the Crawford coal plant by 2014.

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The Chicago Clean Power Coalition released the following statement in response to the news.

For Immediate Release

May 2, 2012

Chicago’s Fisk and Crawford Coal Plants to Close in September

Midwest Generation is accelerating the closure of two of the nation’s oldest and dirtiest coal plants, saying both the Fisk plant in Pilsen and the Crawford plant in Little Village will close in September 2012.

On today’s first quarter investor call, Ted Craver, CEO of parent-company Edison International, announced that the Fisk and Crawford coal plants in Chicago will shut ahead of schedule.

Earlier this year, Edison International agreed to retire the Chicago coal plants in response to a 10 year grassroots campaign by a coalition of community, health, and environmental organizations. According to agreements signed by Midwest Generation, the Clean Power Coalition, and the City of Chicago, the Fisk coal plant must shut down in 2012 and the Crawford coal plant by 2014.

Today’s announcement confirms that economic pressures and grassroots opposition present a real challenge to the long term viability of Edison’s coal fleet. Energy producers are recognizing the need to move towards cleaner, more cost effective energy sources

In response to today’s decision, members of the Chicago Clean Power Coalition said:

“We welcome the news that both plants will close earlier than expected. Midwest Generation made this decision independently based on an economic analysis. Coal is not just harmful to public health and air quality; it’s no longer a working business model. Clean energy is where the jobs are now.” – Faith Bugel, senior attorney with Environmental Law & Policy Center.

“There’s no future in coal. Edison International executives can protect Illinois families and their own investors by retiring the remaining Midwest Generation coal plants and committing future investments to renewable energy,” – Kelly Mitchell, Greenpeace Coal Campaigner

“It’s amazing to see the economic times finally catch up with what our communities have known all along – coal is a dirty investment. We are excited to hear that our communities will not have to wait until 2014 for a breath of clean air. In our hearts, we know that Midwest Generation will do right by its employees and invest in them like they have invested in clean energy.” Kimberly Wasserman, Executive Director, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization

“In the neighborhoods surrounding the plants tonight, tiny and older lungs especially will breathe a little easier knowing that 100% of the deadly coal pollution generated in Chicago will end in just 4 short months. This news couldn’t be better and will inspire residents as they work together to gather and construct proposals for how future uses of the sites can benefit the community.” – Jerry Mead-Lucero, local resident and organizer for PERRO, the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization.

“Midwest Generation is doing what it needs to do by shutting the plants early. Now we need to move forward toward clean air and a worthy replacement for the plants.” – Nelson Soza, Pilsen Alliance

“Chicago still has a long term air pollution problem and finally closing the last several ancient, inefficient and dirty coal power plants in the Chicago area would improve the health of all area residents by reducing asthma attacks, heart attacks, hospitalizations and deaths.” – Brian Urbaszewski, Director of Environmental Health for Respiratory health Association of Metropolitan Chicago.

“Today we won two more years of cleaner, safer air for the children of Little Village, culminating the many years of hard work by local families and concerned residents. We are now calling on Midwest Generation to protect their employees and asking for investments in energy efficiency that will create new jobs to assist the workers and community with a smooth transition to a clean energy future. We we look forward to continuing our work with the Chicago Clean Power Coalition and Mayor Emanuel to ensure new productive uses of these sites and a cleaner future our city.” -Jack Darin, Sierra Club Illinois Chapter Director

ELPC is working to make green building practices the norm. Our new LEED Platinum eco-office puts our values into practice, combining innovative technology and forward-thinking design to create a workspace that protects the environment, is healthier for our staff and makes economic sense.

April 26, 2012

Contact:

David Jakubiak

(312) 795-3713

DJakubiak@elpc.org

ELPC Commends Senate Agriculture Committee Support of Homegrown Energy

WASHINGTON – The Senate Agriculture Committee took an important step to support America’s farmers, renewable homegrown energy, rural development and national security by funding core energy programs through a Farm Bill amendment passed today.

“We commend Chairwoman Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and the bipartisan group of 11 Senators who supported a bipartisan amendment supporting mandatory funding for programs that reduce dependence on polluting fossil fuels and help farmers cut energy costs and produce innovative renewable energy for America,” said Andy Olsen, Senior Policy Advocate with the Environmental Law & Policy Center.

“The state of the economy and our continuing energy challenges underscore the need for programs like the REAP (Rural Energy for America Program) and  BCAP (Biomass Crop Assistance Program) which generate rural development and provide a safety net to farmers,” Olsen said.

“We thank the energy title supporters, Senators Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) for their support of an Energy Title amendment that provides mandatory funding of these core energy programs,” Olsen added.

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The Environmental Law & Policy Center is the Midwest’s leading environmental legal advocacy and eco-business innovation organization.                    

Some 117 scientists and researchers from 11 universities and colleges in Michigan have penned a letter to the state’s 17-member congressional delegation urging them to prevent proposed legislation that could reverse tough new regulations on mercury emissions and other air toxins adopted last December by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The federal Mercury and Air Toxics Standard will help “protect and clean the air we breathe, assure that local fish are safer to eat, and protect and preserve the wildlife and natural spaces we love from harmful pollution originating in Michigan and elsewhere,” said the April 5 letter signed by the Michigan university professors and researchers. To read, click here.

Read the blog.

Today, the growing green economy is helping to drive the Midwest’s and our nation’s economic recovery. Energy-efficient equipment and appliances; wind and solar energy development; cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars; and modern high-performance rail development are good for job creation, good for economic growth and good for the environment.

Read Howard’s full editorial.

The Gazette in Cedar Rapids examines this potential and speaks with the Environmental Law & Policy Center’s Steve Falck.

” One way to help would be for the state to lead in the use of solar and wind energy, said Steve Falck, a former northeast Iowa legislator who’s now with the Iowa Environmental Law and Policy Center. “

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“BCAP is an important and unique program that develops new biomass energy crops that can boost farmer income while providing a new energy source for the nation. It has potential across the country,” said Steve Falck, Senior Policy Advocate for the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC).

The USDA will review the proposals and select producers or biomass facilities for the BCAP Project Areas. The growers will qualify for establishment or annual payments.

BCAP was first created in the 2008 Farm Bill. In FY2011, USDA selected nine project areas, approving more than 860 grower contracts for camelina, hybrid poplar, warm season grasses and giant miscanthus on almost 50,000 acres. The total investment in those projects is estimated to be $55 million.

In November 2011, Congress passed appropriations for 2012 limiting the total amount of BCAP funding to $17 million, reducing the potential number of projects and investments.

The Request for Proposal and additional information can be found at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/bcap.

To apply for a BCAP grant:

1.    Go to www.grants.gov.

2.    On the left side of the page, click on “Apply for Grants.”

3.    Click on “Download a Grant Application Package.”

4.    Type “10.087” in the box with the heading “CFDA Number” and click on “Download Package.”

 ”‘It’s a major victory for water quality in Iowa,” said Josh Mandelbaum, an attorney for the Environmental Law and Policy Center, an environmental advocacy group. “These rules are designed to protect public health and to protect our waterways and the uses of those waterways whether it’s making them safe for outdoor recreation or safe for drinking water.’”

Read the full story.