Did you know that about 60 percent of Minnesota’s electricity comes from coal, but we import every single lump of it from other states? Minnesota has relied on coal as its main electricity source for a long time, but it’s becoming more and more clear that coal isn’t part of our clean energy future. For our health, our pocketbooks, and our environment, it’s time to kick coal to the curb.

HEALTH

Coal-fired power plants pump out a wide variety of pollutants that negatively affect your family’s health. According to the American Lung Association’s report, Toxic Air: The Case for Cleaning Up Coal-fired Power Plants, over 386,000 tons of 84 separate hazardous air pollutants spew from over 400 coal plants in 46 states. That means you – and your kids – are breathing a lot of unhealthy air. And according to a 2010 National Academy of Science report, pollution from Minnesota coal plants caused nearly $600 million in health costs in 2007.

Need another reason to kick the coal habit? When coal is burned, it leaves behind a mess called coal ash. It’s not your garden-variety pile of cinders. Coal ash is chock-full of poisonous contaminants like arsenic, lead, and mercury. While these contaminants are often in very small concentrations, they easily leach and concentrate in run-off from disposal facilities. Coal contaminates our air and water supplies, while Minnesota’s abundant renewable resources like wind and solar run clean. Isn’t it time to make the switch?

COST AND RISK

Not only is coal polluting and unhealthy, it’s also a drain on Minnesota’s economy. Using coal for electricity doesn’t keep energy dollars or create jobs in Minnesota – we simply don’t have a scrap of coal to call our own. And the amount of money we export isn’t chump change. In fact, in 2008 Minnesota spent about $550 million on coal. That’s money we should have kept in Minnesota through investment in energy efficiency and development of homegrown renewable energy sources.

And coal’s only getting more expensive. Over the last decade, the costs of coal power have skyrocketed. Between 2001 and 2008, Minnesota’s coal expenditures nearly doubled in cost, while the amount of energy generated by coal actually decreased. New coal plants are now so expensive that they can’t compete with cleaner sources, while many older plants are increasingly inefficient to operate. And these aging coal-fired power plants face a very uncertain regulatory future. Regulations aimed at reducing mercury pollution, smog, and haze and requiring the safe storage of toxic wastes are coming soon, and coal plants will require expensive cleanup projects. In addition, power plants will most certainly be facing requirements to reduce global warming pollution within the next decade.

Utilities are crunching the numbers. Most Minnesota utilities have been very clear in their 15-year resource plans that they are not interested in new commitments to coal because of the cost and risk associated to building new plants. Minnesota is meeting current and projected energy demands with cleaner energy sources, and utilities have identified no need for new coal power capacity.

GLOBAL WARMING

When you talk about our coal habit, you can’t forget about global warming. Coal plants are the nation’s – and Minnesota’s – single largest source of global warming emissions. Over the last few years, Minnesota has begun making great strides, establishing climate protection and efficiency goals and a nation-leading renewable energy standard, and requiring that companies investing in new coal offset the resulting global warming pollution. In response, Minnesota’s energy utilities are meeting their commitments through increased investments in clean energy technologies. In 2010, wind power provided almost 10 percent of Minnesota’s electricity and avoided 4.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. That’s roughly equal to the carbon pollution that would be emitted by a single large coal plant.

Did you know that about 60 percent of Minnesota's electricity comes from coal, but we import every single lump of it from other states?