February 27, 2009

 

 

Through the organization Credo Action and its Credo Blog, we heard from many individuals like you who expressed their concerns about coal-fired power plants and the need for additional investment in clean electricity sources (one version of the message is included below).

 

TransAlta shares your concern about climate change and we agree that we need to continue to invest in clean sources of energy. We also recognize that we must work to reduce the environmental impacts of electricity generation.

 

It’s a complex challenge, and there are no easy solutions. Until we, as a planet, are able to find other ways to meet growing demand for reliable, consistent and affordable power, coal will continue to play a critical role in supplying the world’s energy needs. That is why TransAlta is working to find new and better ways to operate our coal-fired power generation facilities. We are committed to helping break the link between energy production and its environmental impacts without compromising North America’s long-term economic prosperity.

 

For almost two decades TransAlta has earned a reputation as an environmental leader for our actions to increase the energy efficiency of our operations, reduce harmful air emissions and invest in renewable energy. For the past three years we have been selected as a member company on the Dow Jones North American Sustainability Indexes (DJSI). Inclusion in the DJSI is granted exclusively to companies that lead their industries in the pursuit of sustainability by setting standards for best practice and demonstrating superior environmental, social and economic performance.

 

TransAlta was the first major Canadian energy company to participate in a wind power project, and is currently one of that nation’s largest wind energy producers. In addition to owning significant hydroelectric assets, since 2000 we have invested just under $1 billion in other forms of renewable energy including wind farms and geothermal facilities to become one of the leading developers and producers of renewable energy in North America. Today, renewable energy accounts for more than 15 per cent of TransAlta’s generation capability, and we plan to invest hundreds of millions in green energy projects over the next five years.

 

But as much as we support and grow renewables, it is a reality that building renewables alone will not solve the climate change problem.  Coal and other fossil fuels represent over 60 per cent of the global electricity supply.  We must address emissions from this huge installed capacity which will continue to operate for decades.

 

At the same time as we pursue investments in renewable energy, we continue our work to address the impacts of the fossil fuel side of our business. On the climate change front, one of the most promising new developments is the emergence of new carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. CCS captures CO2 emissions and stores them permanently in deep underground geological formations.  It is our view that CCS is one of the few technologies that can make major greenhouse gas reductions globally in the next 10-15 years, and be applied both to new and existing power plants.

 

Both the U.S. and Canadian Governments have announced massive CCS initiatives.  President Obama recently committed US$3.4 billion to accelerate CCS technology, while Canadian governments have announced CDN$2.8 billion for the same purpose.

 

TransAlta is actively involved in developing CCS technology, which has a big advantage over other greenhouse gas reduction techniques in that it can sequester massive amounts of CO2 and can be retrofitted to existing coal-fired plants.  Last year we announced Project Pioneer in partnership with Alstom Canada – a world leader in power generation technology – to develop a large-scale CCS facility at one of our coal-fired power plants in Alberta, Canada.  Project Pioneer, once built, will be one of the first and the largest such projects in the world, eliminating over one million tonnes per year of CO2 from the atmosphere.

 

I hope this letter helps address some of your concerns. If you are interested in learning more about TransAlta’s views on alternative energy, the future of coal and the long-term potential of CCS, please refer to this recent speech by our CEO, Steve Snyder (simply click on or copy and paste this URL into your browser's address bar - http://www.transalta.com/transalta/webcms.nsf/AllDoc/7EFEBEFCFD03408187257506005CF84E?OpenDocument).

 

I would also encourage you to visit our website at www.transalta.com to find further information about the company, including our most recent Report on Sustainability.

 

Regards,

 

 

 

Jennifer Pierce

Vice President

Communications & Investor Relations - TransAlta

 

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-----Original Message-----

From: john.doe@abc.com [mailto:john.doe@abc.com]

Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 7:02 PM

To: Jennifer Pierce

Subject: Time for a change

 

 

Jennifer Pierce

VP Communications & Investor Relations

TransAlta Corporation

 

February 24, 2009

 

To whom it may concern:

 

As an electric power consumer, I am writing to ask you to shift your investments away from dirty coal and towards truly clean electricity sources. Shareholders are calling on power companies to make significant reductions in their toxic emissions and to seriously address climate change.  The best way to respond to these concerns on climate change is for your company to get out of the coal business, stop building new coal-fired power plants, and to stop misleading the public about non-existent "clean coal" technologies.  I'm sure you're aware that when Dynegy recently announced they were pulling out of building coal-fired power plants, their stock price went up by 19% in just one day.

 

We all know there's nothing clean about coal and it is not the answer to America's increasing energy needs. No matter what technologies are employed, coal-fired power plants inevitably contribute to global warming, air pollution, and environmental degradation from the mining and burning of coal.

 

I urge your company to invest in solar, wind and other renewable energy technologies as a way of meeting growing consumer demand for energy. Energy efficiency technologies should also be funded and deployed on a massive scale. Only renewable energy and conservation will provide our country with energy security, reduce toxic pollution and global warming, and create competitive green jobs for years to come. I look forward to your response to my letter and direct action in this matter.

 

Sincerely,

 

John Doe

City, State