Soot to Solar

The Waukegan Generating Station in Illinois causes significant health harms, including an estimated 18 premature deaths annually, and disproportionately affects people of color. Analysis indicates that the plant's coal units can be retired without impacting electricity reliability, as generation can be replaced across the PJM regional transmission organization. The document proposes a just transition involving site remediation, energy storage, and the use of nearby brownfield sites for solar projects under the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA).

• Pollution from the Waukegan Generating Station is linked to an estimated 18 premature deaths and 118 asthma attacks every year. Closing the coal-fired units is estimated to save 143 lives between 2022 and 2030.
• The plant's pollution disproportionately impacts people of color in Waukegan, where 55 percent of the 88,000 residents are Latino and 19 percent are black.
• Retiring the plant's two remaining coal units would not disrupt electricity reliability, as the generation could be replaced by existing power plants across the 13 states served by the PJM regional transmission organization.
• The plant's oil-burning combustion turbines could be shut down if 100 MW of new generating capacity were added to the Chicagoland area, or if a 23 MW energy storage installation (occupying 0.34 percent of the site) were implemented alongside energy efficiency measures.
• Four specific brownfield sites in the area—Yeoman Creek landfill, the Johns-Manville site, the North Shore Gas north plant site, and the Outboard Marine Corporation site—are eligible for solar incentives under the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA).

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2018). Soot to Solar. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/10/Waukegan-Case-Study.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Soot to Solar. 2018. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/10/Waukegan-Case-Study.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Soot to Solar |date=October 2018 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/10/Waukegan-Case-Study.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2018soot, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Soot to Solar}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2018}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/10/Waukegan-Case-Study.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }