Bloomberg Philanthropies and Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign Announce New England is Officially Coal-Free
Announced retirement of two coal plants in New Hampshire marks New England as the second coal-free region in the United States
Building on the legacy of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Beyond Carbon is one step closer to its goal of finishing the job on coal
New York, NY – Today, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign announced that New England’s six states will be coal-free by June 1, 2028, with the retirement of New Hampshire’s last two remaining coal plants. With this announcement, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Beyond Carbon and the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign have successfully secured the retirement of 72% of coal-fired power plants in the U.S. – 381 out of 530 plants.
“A coal-free New England – a milestone more than a decade in the making – is a major victory for the region, the country, and the fight against climate change,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and Founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies. “Since 2011, we’ve worked hand in hand with the Sierra Club to consign coal power to history and help more Americans reap the health and economic benefits of clean energy. We’ve had a lot of success – and, with more than 70 percent of the U.S. coal fleet now either retired or on its way out, we’re well on our way to finishing the job.”
“This historic victory is a testament to the strength and resolve of those who never wavered in the fight for their communities and future,” said Ben Jealous, Sierra Club Executive Director. “The people of New Hampshire and all of New England will soon breathe cleaner air and drink safer water, and I’m incredibly proud to see the region continue to grow as a leader in the clean energy transition.”
Since 2011, Bloomberg Philanthropies has partnered with the Sierra Club to end America’s reliance on coal and transition the country to a more affordable, reliable, and clean energy future through the Beyond Coal campaign. To date, the effort has helped achieve more than 80 percent of all U.S. emissions reductions since 2010.
After nearly a decade of progress on Beyond Coal, Mike Bloomberg launched Beyond Carbon in 2019 with an initial $500 million commitment to continue the momentum on moving beyond coal, stopping the rush to gas, and expanding clean energy capacity to meet energy needs. Last year Bloomberg doubled down with an additional $500 million to finish the job on coal, cut existing gas use in half, block the construction of all new gas plants, and accelerate the clean energy transition with the goal of 80% of U.S. electricity generated from clean sources by 2030. Coal plant closures from Beyond Coal and Beyond Carbon are estimated to have saved 54,000 lives, prevented over 84,000 heart attacks, and saved $25 billion in health care costs.
“Today’s announcement is the culmination of years of persistence and dedication from people across New England who knew coal was a dirty, expensive, and unreliable source of energy that would cut people’s lives short, and that a better way was possible for our economy, for our health, and for our planet,” said Gina McCarthy, Bloomberg Philanthropies Senior Advisor and former White House National Climate Advisor. “I am wicked proud to be from New England today and every day – we are showing the rest of the country that we can secure our energy future without compromising on affordability, our health, or our planet.”
New England’s coal-free status was achieved with the announced retirement of Merrimack Station in Bow, New Hampshire, and Schiller Station in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This milestone marks New Hampshire as the 16th coal-free state in the U.S. and New England as only the second coal-free region in the country, following the Pacific Northwest in 2011.
“Today, we celebrate as, at long last, New Hampshire joins our coal-free neighbors across New England,” said Cathy Corkery, Senior Organizer of the New Hampshire Sierra Club. “Local communities have long unjustly shouldered the burden of health and safety concerns caused by Merrimack Station and Schiller Stations’ pollution. Now, after years of advocacy by the local Sierra Club community, volunteers, advocates, and allies, an end is in sight. With coal soon gone, New Hampshire can lead the region in clean energy development and reap the economic and health benefits for generations of Granite State families.”
“In communities across the country, the Sierra Club is working to achieve similar outcomes to the one we fought so hard for here in New Hampshire,” said Holly Bender, Sierra Club Chief Energy Officer. “Thanks to the unwavering dedication and strategic vision of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, local activists, and our partners, we’re ushering in a new, coal-free era in New England, one that will unlock clean energy for the region.”
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), coal accounted for 12% of power generation in New England’s six states in 2009. Between 1990 and 2022, coal power has steadily decreased, with electricity generation declining by 98%. With the retirement of all eight coal plants in the region, the Beyond Coal campaign will have helped take 2.9 GW of coal offline, a reduction of 15.6 million tons of carbon emissions from New England. That is equivalent to taking more than 3.1 million cars off the road for a year. With almost 33 GW of wind, solar, and storage planned for New England, the region is well on its way to more affordable, reliable, and clean energy.
Before Beyond Coal’s work began over a decade ago, the U.S. had more than 500 operational coal-fired power plants emitting pollutants that were linked to as many as 13,000 premature deaths every year and more than $100 billion in annual health costs. Powered by a diverse coalition with thousands of grassroots volunteers, Beyond Coal has been called “the most effective campaign in the Club’s 123-year history, and maybe the history of the environmental movement.”
In 2011, Bloomberg Philanthropies disrupted climate philanthropy by pledging a first-of-its-kind $50 million to the Beyond Coal campaign. Beating the original goal and timeline by retiring half of the U.S. coal fleet in 2017, Bloomberg Philanthropies committed an additional $64 million to help retire close to 70% of U.S. coal plants, leading to a 53% reduction in carbon emissions from coal (2011-2020). Bloomberg Philanthropies’ longstanding mission to move the world beyond coal has led to clean energy programs in 32 countries and the European Union. In 2017, Bloomberg Philanthropies grew Beyond Coal’s efforts to Europe, which has since helped retire more than half the continent’s coal plants. The success of these campaigns also inspired the launch of similar campaigns in Australia, South Korea, and Japan. In 2022, Mike Bloomberg expanded Bloomberg Philanthropies’ efforts to accelerate the clean energy transition in 10 developing countries. That same year, Bloomberg Philanthropies furthered that commitment to an additional 15 developing countries.
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About Bloomberg Philanthropies:
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2023, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $3 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, Facebook, and X.
Media Contact:
Marshall Cohen, mcohen@bloomberg.org
About the Sierra Club:
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
Media Contact:
Jonathon Berman, Jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org