Energy

Mayor Bloomberg gives $50 million to fight coal-fired power plants

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New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will donate $50 million to the Sierra Club to support its nationwide campaign to eliminate coal-fired power plants.

Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune described the gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies, which will be spread out over four years, as “a game-changer, from our perspective.” The group will devote the money to its “Beyond Coal” campaign, which has helped block the construction of 153 new coal-fired power plants across the country since 2002.

Brune said in a phone interview that the group will use the money “to identify the oldest, dirtiest coal-fired power plants, retire them and replace them with clean energy.” Some of the utilities the expanded campaign will focus on are in the Washington area, including the GenOn plant in Alexandria.

Full story: Mayor Bloomberg gives $50 million to fight coal-fired power plants