Sierra Club Nebraska Reacts to OPPD Extending Life of Aging Coal Plant - CleanTechnica

The Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) board has voted to extend the operation of the aging North Omaha Station, a coal-fired power plant with a history of reliability problems and significant health impacts on the North Omaha community. This decision reverses a 2014 commitment to retire the plant and move away from coal. The plant’s continued operation disproportionately affects North Omaha, a historically Black neighborhood, exposing residents to harmful air pollution linked to high asthma rates and other health issues. Health experts, including Douglas County Health Director Lindsay Huse, have highlighted the detrimental health consequences and environmental injustices caused by ongoing coal burning. In response, Ken Winston, director of Sierra Club Nebraska, condemned OPPD’s decision as a violation of its environmental justice policy and a threat to vulnerable communities. The Sierra Club has actively campaigned for nearly 15 years to retire the plant and transition to clean energy alternatives such as demand-side management and distributed energy resources. Winston emphasized that the only beneficiaries of keeping the coal plant operational