About Us
Coal is an outdated, backward, and dirty 19th-century technology.
Not only is coal burning responsible for one third of US carbon emissions—the main contributor to climate disruption—but it is also making us sick, leading to as many as 13,000 premature deaths every year and more than $100 billion in annual health costs. The Beyond Coal campaign’s main objective is to replace dirty coal with clean energy by mobilizing grassroots activists in local communities to advocate for the retirement of old and outdated coal plants and to prevent new coal plants from being built.
Beyond Coal Campaign Goals
- We're trying to close all the coal plants in the US. Our movement has led more than half of the coal plants to be retired or commit to retire.
- We're working to replace the majority of retired coal plants with clean energy solutions such as wind, solar, and geothermal.
- We're also working to keep coal in the ground in places like Appalachia and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.
Join Us
Mary Anne Hitt,
Director, Sierra Club's
Beyond Coal campaign
Moving Beyond Coal, By the Numbers
There are more than twice as many
solar jobs as coal jobs, including
mining and power.1
solar jobs as coal jobs, including
mining and power.1
Energy efficiency programs employ nearly
2 million people, nearly twice as many
as the oil and gas industry.2
2 million people, nearly twice as many
as the oil and gas industry.2
In 2016 a new wind turbine rose
every 2.4 hours in the US.
every 2.4 hours in the US.
10 of the 12 worst environmental justice offending
plants have retired or proposed retirement.3
plants have retired or proposed retirement.3
Since 2010, 270 coal-fired power plants
have retired or proposed retirement.
have retired or proposed retirement.
Coal retirements have saved more than 7,000
lives, $3.4bn in health care costs and prevented
more than 81,000 asthma attacks.4
lives, $3.4bn in health care costs and prevented
more than 81,000 asthma attacks.4
RETIRING ONE DIRTY COAL-BURNING PLANT WILL PREVENT:
25
premature
deaths
deaths
38
heart
attacks
attacks
408
asthma
attacks
attacks
23
asthma emergency
room visits
room visits
DIRTY POWER PLANTS RETIRED
The plants counted here are "planned retirements" plants that have retired or proposed to retire with a specific retirement date.
233 to go
DIRTY UNITS RETIRED
Each coal-burning plant is made up of a specific number of units. Since not all coal plants are the same size, the number tracked here shows the total number of coal units in the U.S. that have been announced for retirement.
478 to go
DIRTY MEGAWATTS RETIRED
The average polluting coal power plant is 840MW, which supplies dirty power to over 400,000 homes per year.
203,354 to go
CLEAN ENERGY MEGAWATTS INSTALLED
As old coal plants retire, we're working to make sure that clean energy like wind and solar will step in to replace them, providing many new jobs for American workers.
401,803 to go
