Laura Deehan
State Director, Environment California
[email protected]
Statement: Glendale City Council pauses gas plant for much needed review of cleaner, greener options
Media Contacts
Key vote comes after public outcry to reverse previous municipal decision
Environment California
GLENDALE, Calif.– The Glendale City Council paused plans on Tuesday for a new gas-fired power plant project. In doing so, the lawmakers reversed a two-week-old decision following an outpouring of public support for greener power options for the city. The city council deferred the decision on purchasing the gas equipment until the end of 2022 so that clean energy and other alternatives can be explored. Unfortunately, council members began discussing other bad options like burning hydrogen, which releases even more pollution than burning gas.
Glendale Environmental Coalition Steering Committee Member Kate Unger issued the following statement:
“Thanks to this vote, we have a chance to stop this gas plant, but our fight is far from over. We call on our city leaders to make sure Glendale Water and Power aggressively pursues clean and distributed energy so that at the end of the year we can leave this fossil fuel project behind us once and for all. We are looking to our city council taking bold steps toward the clean energy transition that we all must embrace so we can leave a livable home for future generations.”
Glendale Environmental Coalition Steering Committee Member Elise Kalfayan issued the following statement:
“People who’ve been homeowners for decades, parents of young children, college students and a representative on behalf of the Armenian National Committee of America Glendale Chapter all spoke out for clean energy in Glendale and I’m gratified that the city council listened. Hearing from those people and so many other constituents via hundreds of emails in the days preceding their course correction, the Glendale City Council was confronted with political reality: Fossil fuel generation is tremendously unpopular and Glendale must forge a new path for sustainable energy.”
Statement from Morgan Goodwin, Senior Director of the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter:
“Glendale City Council should have directed staff to come up with a non-combustion option at Glendale, instead of getting caught up in misinformation about hydrogen gas and inflated assumptions about energy demand in Glendale. Burning gas damages the climate, and burning hydrogen damages our health. We need real clean energy solutions in Glendale that eliminate air pollution and provide families with affordable and reliable power.”
Statement from Laura Deehan, State Director of Environment California:
“Glendale community members have spoken out overwhelmingly to support clean, renewable energy options over dirty polluting power sources. Now the city must get to work to find clean alternatives to installing new gas fired power equipment in town. The last thing California cities should be doing is building any more fossil fuel power infrastructure given the enormous sunshine and wind potential as well as the technology innovations of our residents”
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The Glendale Environmental Coalition is a grassroots group dedicated to ensuring a healthy and sustainable environment for all. GEC formed in 2017 to fight the Grayson Repowering Project’s first incarnation, and has been advocating for more clean energy in Glendale Water and Power’s plan since then, as well as for climate and environmental sustainability throughout Glendale government policies and operations.
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.
Environment California works for clean air, clean water, clean energy, wildlife and open spaces, and a livable climate. Our members across the state put grassroots support behind our research and advocacy.
