Muscatine Power and Water looks at natural gas; environmental groups push back
Muscatine Power and Water wants to reduce their CO2 emissions by 65% by 2030. To do so, they re replacing their coal-fired power plants - but how is the debate. Author: Shelby Kluver (WQAD) Updated: 11:30 PM CDT July 19, 2021
MUSCATINE, Iowa Muscatine Power and Water (MPW) wants to move from their coal-fired power plant to a natural gas-powered unit. While the move is environmentally cleaner than coal, local environmental groups are asking the municipal organization to do more.
The nonprofit MPW provides water, electricity and communications to about 26,000 people. Since the 1970s, they ve generated their electric power through three coal-fired units. But now, the organization is embarking on a several-year initiative they call Powering the Future. That would include:
A group of 40 Muscatine citizens known as Clean Air Muscatine (CLAM) is seeking to have its voice included in the state's lawsuit against an alleged corporate polluter, Grain Processing Corporation (GPC). In a lawsuit filed last month, The Iowa Department of Natural Resources alleges that GPC is a major source of hazardous air pollutants including…