(Sheboygan, Wisconsin) –Health professionals, climate advocates and Sheboygan leaders gathered today at Lakeview Park to decry Alliant Energy’s plan to transition the Edgewater Generating Station to methane gas in 2028. The speakers called out the for-profit utility for reversing its commitment to retire the coal plant and investing in harmful and unreliable methane gas, especially when clean energy is a healthier and more affordable way for Alliant to meet its customers’ energy needs.
“Alliant Energy has broken its promise to the community. Its plan to continue burning coal and then transition the facility to a methane gas plant is harmful to Sheboygan families. There is nothing natural about methane gas. It produces dangerous pollution that negatively impacts the health of Wisconsinites, especially children,” said Dr. Brittany Keyes, clean air coordinator for Healthy Climate Wisconsin.
Burning methane gas releases nitrogen oxides (NOx), which can cause coughing, wheezing, asthma attacks, reduced lung function, and respiratory inflammation. NOx is damaging in its own right, but it also reacts with other substances in the air to produce particulate matter and ozone.
Fine particulate matter is an extremely dangerous pollutant. It is a deadly mix of metals, organic chemicals, and acidic substances that are so small they can be inhaled deeply into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. Exposure to particulate matter causes increased infant mortality, cardiovascular disease, asthma, diabetes, cognitive impairments, and premature death. There is no safe level of particulate matter for health.
In addition, ozone can lead to or exacerbate many health issues, including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation and airway inflammation. It can reduce lung function and worsen bronchitis, emphysema and asthma.
In fact, a 2017 Harvard study found that gas power plants actually caused more premature deaths than coal plants in 19 states. Children are especially harmed by gas plant pollution because their lungs are still developing, they are outside more often, and they breathe in more air-per-pound of body weight than adults do.
“Moms Clean Air Force Wisconsin is calling on Alliant Energy to do the right thing. Turning from coal to gas – both of which are linked to significant health problems – is not the answer for this community, which most recently received a “F” for Air Quality on the American Lung Association’s 2024 State of the Air Report. Alliant’s investment in clean energy solutions should continue- right here in Sheboygan,” said Jayne Black, Wisconsin field organizer for Moms Clean Air Force.
Burning methane gas accelerates climate change, which leads to more frequent and intense extreme weather events such as severe heat, wildfire smoke, and flooding. And methane gas is an increasingly unreliable energy source, particularly during extreme weather events.
“Across the state utilities are falling behind in the transition to clean energy and climate change is not waiting for them. While Wisconsinites deal with extreme heat and droughts, smoke, flooding, and more, Alliant is failing the communities it serves by keeping coal running longer and proposing to transition to gas. No amount of PR can hide the fact that methane gas is a driving force in the climate crisis and is actively harming all of us, especially the communities where Alliant and other utilities want to burn this fossil fuel. We need to see a true transition to clean energy,” said Jadine Sonoda, campaign coordinator for the Sierra Club-Wisconsin Chapter.
The press event was organized by Healthy Climate Wisconsin, Faith in Place, Moms Clean Air Force, the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation, 350 Wisconsin,, and the Climate Action Campaign.
