March 11, 2021 / 12:18pm / Julie McClure
Geothermal Urbana-Champaign is hosting four more Geo Power Hours to share about installing a geothermal energy system in your home or business. If you are in Champaign, Piatt, or Vermillion Counties, you have the opportunity to participate in a group-buy supported by the City of Urbana, Geothermal Alliance of Illinois (GAOI), Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA). From the press release: Geothermal Urbana-Champaign enables participants to effectively reduce energy use and reduce overall draw on the electricity grid. Geothermal provides a level of energy security in their community through the use of renewable thermal energy, while simultaneously conserving energy and lowering long-term energy costs.
Environmental News For The Week Ending 06 March 2019 econintersect.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from econintersect.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Originally published on March 3, 2021 10:58 am
Environmentalists in Illinois worry that having few regulations for coal-fired power plant demolitions will increase the chance for a toxic disaster when these facilities are dismantled.
Since 2009, 12 of the state’s 23 remaining coal power plants have closed, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Five more, all owned by Vistra Energy, are set to close this decade, according to an announcement from the company. One of those is in Baldwin, 40 miles southeast of St. Louis.
Six others will either close some generating units or have no official retirement dates.
“We’re hitting this big transition moment; all these power plants are going to close,” said Andrew Rehn, a civil engineer at Prairie Rivers Network, which works on water, land and pollution issues across Illinois. “We just don’t have a plan, and it’s coming across the state.”
Belleville News-Democrat
Workers watch from a safe distance as the main structure of the former Wood River Power Plant in East Alton is brought down by explosives on Feb. 1. There aren t established regulations in Illinois for how to demolish an old coal plant, leaving environmentalists worried there will be toxic disaster when more of these plants are demolished.
Environmentalists in Illinois worry that having few regulations for coal-fired power plant demolitions will increase the chance for a toxic disaster when these facilities are dismantled.
Since 2009, 12 of the state’s 23 remaining coal power plants have closed, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Five more, all owned by Vistra Energy, are set to close this decade, according to an announcement from the company. One of those is in Baldwin, 40 miles southeast of St. Louis.
Central Illinois communities convening on coal plant transition
Canton Daily Ledger
HAVANA In the fall of 2019, the communities of Canton and Havana were hit with the shocking news that Vistra Corp. planned closing the local coal-fired power plants within three months. Community leaders were left to navigate the detrimental impacts to their tax base and workforce and they turned to each other to share ideas and resources.
This scenario is happening throughout Illinois. In the central Illinois region, Hennepin and Coffeen are experiencing similar challenges as Canton and Havana.
Since 2011, Illinois has experienced closures of over half of its coal plants.