People Power Trumps Dirty Power: Dominion Sees the Light, Pulls the Plug on Three Dirty Coal-Fired Plants

WASHINGTON, June 21  /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Co-op America's Climate Change Program today applauded a decision by Dominion Power to cancel three of four new dirty coal-fired power plants originally slated for construction by the company. Co-op America thanked the participants in its successful consumer awareness campaign opposing the controversial power plants.

More than 20,000 Co-op America members and other concerned citizens sent messages to Dominion urging the power company to focus more on alternative energy sources.  Co-op America renewed its call in April 2007 for Americans to speak out against the plans of the Richmond-based energy company. The petitions from consumers join the concerns of shareholders who called on the company at its annual meeting to address the pressing climate change issues at stake.

Co-op America Climate Change Program Director Todd Larsen said:  "Co-op America and its members have been calling on Dominion Power to stop relying on dirty coal power, and transition toward cleaner energy solutions that will reduce global warming emissions.  Last year, after we first began taking action on Dominion, we saw the company begin to invest in wind power for the first time.  Now Dominion and Royal Dutch Shell are pledging to triple wind power investments in West Virginia over the course of this year.

Dominion has recently cancelled plans for two coal-fired power plants totaling 2250 megawatts, according to the Department of Energy (http://www.netl.doe.gov/coal/refshelf/ncp.pdf).  Dominion has also confirmed that a 600 MW plant scheduled for Ohio has been cancelled.

Larsen emphasized that the public needs to keep up the pressure on Dominion, which still has plans to build a dirty coal-fired power plant and a nuclear power plant in Virginia. Dominion has also failed to comply with shareholder requests that it disclose its potential financial exposure from foreseeable climate regulations.

Earlier this spring, Co-op America joined allies in Virginia to oppose Dominion-sponsored legislation in that state to allow the company to reap greater profits without making additional investments in renewable energy. Co-op America members contacted the governor's office to ask for changes to make the bill better serve consumers and the environment.  The final legislation was improved to include a doubling of the state's voluntary renewable energy use and demand consumption goals by 2022.

ABOUT CO-OP AMERICA

Co-op America is a non-profit membership organization founded in 1982 with the mission to harness economic power-the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace-and to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society. 

Co-op America, Washington, D.C.


CONTACT:  Patrick Mitchell, +1-703-276-3266, pmitchell@hastingsgroup.com,
for Co-op America, Washington, D.C.



Web site:  http://www.netl.doe.gov/