A long time coal burning power plant is shutting down in Magna. (Stock Photo Pexels)
MAGNA, Utah — A 75-year-old coal-fired power plant is shutting down in Magna, and they hope it means cleaner air for the valley.
Rio Tinto Kennecott is shutting down its Magna Power Plant. The company is shifting from refined copper toward solar and wind energy sources.
“Our full electrical demand across all of Kennecott will be powered with 1.5 million MWh of carbon-free, green, recertified renewable energy from Rocky Mountain Power’s growing portfolio of wind and solar resources,” said Marc Cameron, the managing director of Rio Tinto Kennecott.
The plant has not operated in the winter since the 1990s. Still, the closure is expected to eliminate 6,000 tons of pollutants in the air.
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson says this is a proactive step to reduce carbon emissions.
“A little bittersweet in that we will see an icon of our landscape, a job producing site close but the really good part of this is we will have cleaner air because of it,” she said.
Rio Tinto says workers will be relocated to other areas within the company.
You can read more in the Deseret News here