10 Dec The Problems with Las Brisas

Check out a guess post from Communications Intern, Tania!

Texas stands at an energy cross roads. Texas has more new proposed coal plants than any other state in the nation, yet we are also #1 in wind production. Texas is rich in wind and solar power, and if we made the switch to sustainable energy Texas would be a world leader in the creation of clean energy jobs and innovation.

Despite the surplus of renewable energy sources in Texas, Houston-based Chase Energy is planning to build a large electric plant, The Las Brisas Energy Center. The power plant will be located at the Port of Corpus Christi, and will burn petroleum coke, a residue of oil refining that pollutes just like coal, sometimes worse. The plant will be the number one source of air pollution in Nueces County and will cause Corpus Christi to exceed federal pollution standards.

The Las Brisas Coal Plant threatens the health of Texans, it will place an unnecessary economic burden on Corpus Christ, and it is a distraction from the green economy that Texans are trying to create.

Coastal Bend doctors of the Nueces County Medical Society and the Tri-County San Patricio-Aransas-Refugio Medical Society have passed resolutions opposing the permitting of the plant, due to the detrimental effect it will have on the health of Texans. Corpus Christi cardiologist, Dr. Greg Silverstein said, “In Corpus Christi, we already experience twice as much asthma as the state average. If the Las Brisas plant is allowed to go forward with the huge annual emissions of smog and smoke in their permit application, we will see a significant increase of even more asthma in Corpus Christi and the surrounding towns. I am concerned about my patients and all the people of Corpus Christi.”

Emissions from the coal plant also threaten to push Corpus Christi from its boarder-line non-attainment status to full blown non-attainment for federal pollution standards on numerous criteria. This could cost Corpus Christi a lot of money. Non-attainment can result in the loss federal transportation funding in the area. It will also prevent other industries (especially renewable energy industries) to move into the area; industries that would provide good green jobs and make Corpus Christi and Texas a leader in renewable energy.

The Las Brisas Energy Center simply does no make sense for Texas. There is no need to build an energy plant that would pollute, make Texans sick, and pose an unnecessary financial burden on our community. Especially in Corpus Christi where solar, wind, and wave energy are readily available.

Please join concerned citizens from across Texas and make a call today urging investors to redirect investment into energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy options rather than dirty pet-coke. More information on how to make these calls can be found at www.sierraclub.org/coal/tx.