PEORIA – As energy giant Vistra announced a plan for the eventual closing of its Illinois coal plants, GOP Senate candidate Mary Burress is warning that these closures could be just the tip of the iceberg if State Senator Dave Koehler (D-46) and like-minded environmentalists are successful.
"Today's announcement [by Vistra] will be just the beginning if the radical environmentalist agenda pushed by Dave Koehler becomes law," said Burress. "If Koehler succeeds, every coal plant in the entire state of Illinois would be closed."
Vistra Energy says it expects to retire seven Luminant power plants – five in Illinois and two in Ohio – of which the company owns a combined capacity of more than 6,800 MW, between 2022 and 2027.
By year-end 2022
- Edwards Power Plant, Bartonville, IL (MISO) – 585 MW previously announced
By year-end 2025 or sooner should economic or other conditions dictate
- Baldwin Power Plant, Baldwin, IL (MISO) – 1,185 MW
- Joppa Power Plant, Joppa, IL (MISO) – 1,002 MW (plus 239 MW of gas-fueled combustion turbines)1
By year-end 2027 or sooner should economic or other conditions dictate
- Kincaid Power Plant, Kincaid, IL (PJM) – 1,108 MW
- Miami Fort Power Plant, North Bend, OH (PJM) – 1,020 MW
- Newton Power Plant, Newton, IL (MISO) – 615 MW
- Zimmer Power Plant, Moscow, OH (PJM) – 1,300 MW
In Springfield, Burress says, Koehler has been pushing an amendment to Senate Bill 135 that would lead to the closure of all Illinois coal plants. The so-called "Competitive Clean Energy Act," backed by Chicago environmentalists, would close coal plants and replace them with solar farms and wind turbines. Koehler has consistently supported policies that would shift energy jobs from downstate, to "green jobs" in Chicago.
The announcement of the upcoming closures comes one month after Koehler emerged from a closed-door invite-only meeting with energy leaders in Canton and announced that shuttered facilities there would transition to solar energy – adding insult to injury for many local families.
"We saw it here in Canton, and we've seen it elsewhere – when these plants close communities like ours lose good-paying, skilled jobs that support local families," said Burress. "Our leaders should be supporting policies that create jobs, not ones that destroy them.”
More about candidate Mary Burress in the 46th District, which covers most of Fulton, Tazewell, and Peoria Counties at www.mary4Illinois.com
