Blackstone must retire the nations deadliest coal plant

The General J Gavin Coal Plant in Ohio, owned by Blackstone, is identified as the nation's deadliest coal plant, causing an estimated 244 premature deaths annually. Despite a 62 percent drop in US coal usage between 2008 and 2023 and the availability of Inflation Reduction Act funding for just transitions, Blackstone has not announced a closure plan for the 50-year-old facility. The document warns that unplanned closures, as seen at the Homer City Power Plant in Pennsylvania, devastate local economies and workers.

• The General J Gavin Coal Plant in Ohio is described as the deadliest coal plant in the United States, with Sierra Club modeling estimating it causes 244 premature deaths every year due to particulate emissions.
• Since Blackstone acquired the Gavin plant in 2016, the facility has emitted over 106 million metric tons of CO2.
• US coal usage has declined significantly, falling from 2.8 million tons per day in 2008 to 1.1 million tons in 2023, a decrease of 62 percent.
• The Inflation Reduction Act provides billions of dollars in loans to facilitate the closure of fossil fuel assets, provided owners retire the infrastructure, reuse the site for clean energy, and create community benefits plans; however, this funding is first-come-first-serve and expected to run out by 2026.
• Unplanned closures by private equity owners can lead to severe economic impacts, exemplified by the Homer City Power Plant in Pennsylvania, where 129 employees received only 90 days' notice of closure in April 2023.

APA

Private Equity Stakeholder Project (n.d.). Blackstone must retire the nations deadliest coal plant. https://pestakeholder.org/blackstone-gavin-coal-plant/

Chicago

Private Equity Stakeholder Project. Blackstone must retire the nations deadliest coal plant. n.d. https://pestakeholder.org/blackstone-gavin-coal-plant/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |title=Blackstone must retire the nations deadliest coal plant |url=https://pestakeholder.org/blackstone-gavin-coal-plant/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{privateequitystakeholderprojectndblackstone, author = {{Private Equity Stakeholder Project}}, title = {{Blackstone must retire the nations deadliest coal plant}}, publisher = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/blackstone-gavin-coal-plant/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }