The announcement that the electric utility Dynegy will phase out coal at two Illinois power plants put the total planned retirements of coal-fired plants in the United States at more than 100,000 megawatts worth since 2010, according to the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. The MacArthur-supported campaign works with more than 100 allied groups across the United States to shift the country to a clean energy economy. It has averaged one coal plant retirement announcement every ten days since 2010; that will prevent more 100,000 asthma attacks, more than 9,400 heart attacks, and more than 6,000 premature deaths annually. In Illinois, the growth of clean energy such as wind and solar now supports more than 113,000 jobs.
