Amid Transition to Clean Energy, Utilities Tackle Water Conservation

While closing coal-fired power plants is often lauded for improving air quality, it’s also saving billions of gallons of water a year from being withdrawn from the Great Lakes and local resources.

Last month, Jackson-based Consumers Energy pledged to save another billion gallons of water over the next five years beyond the savings seen by closing seven coal plants in 2016. While the goal is part of the company’s broader clean energy and environmental pledge over the next two decades, it also highlights an overlooked aspect of the energy sector: The industry is a major consumer of water.

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