MIChelle Bloodworth

Birthday: unknown – mid-1960s.

Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama

Primary residence: Arlington, Virginia

Current role: CEO and President, America’s Power (2018-present)

• America’s Power was previously known as the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) 

Net worth: Unknown

Annual compensation 2022: $851,435

• Between 2017 and 2022, Bloodworth received $4,196,247 in total compensation, including one year as Chief Operating Officer.

Education:

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University, AL

Board memberships, affiliations, and roles:

• Board member of Keystone Policy Center, Energy Committee

• Advisory Committee, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO)

• Board member of Momentum Women’s Leadership Class of 2010 (2010-present) 

Past roles: 

• COO of America’s Power (2017-2018)

• Before 2017 and her roles at America’s Power, Bloodworth worked for the regional Midwestern grid operator and spent two decades working in the national gas sector.

• Principal at MAB Consulting 

  • “​​Consulting Services engaged in energy development, regulatory strategy and solution development, environmental policy, gas/electric harmonization, infrastructure, and economic analysis.” 

• Executive Director of External Affairs, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) (2015-2016)

• Vice President of Business Development and State Affairs, America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) (2009-2015)

• Various roles at Alabama Gas (1988-2009)

  • Started as Commercial Engineer in 1988

  • Ended as Vice President, Marketing and Communications (2006-2009)

  • Power Plant Engineer at Southern Company Services (1987-1988)

Greenwashing coal 

• Michelle Bloodworth is guilty of greenwashing by promoting carbon capture and clean coal technologies in a last-gasp effort to save a dying industry and keep it alive for a few more carbon-spewing years.

• Bloodworth profits from coal industry fees to prolong its operations. 

Environmental and health impacts of coal

• Coal plant operations have harmed the health of millions of workers and people in communities subject to coal pollution. 

• Burning coal releases sulfur dioxide which contributes to acid rain and respiratory illnesses. It also releases nitrogen oxides, which contribute to smog and respiratory illnesses. Carbon dioxide, heavy metals, and ash are also released when coal is burned. 

• According to Dr. Kate Charlesworth: “The overwhelming majority of scientists say there can be no more coal mines if we’re to have any chance of a safe climate. Medical organisations are increasingly recognising the health risks, with the British Medical Journal describing climate change as, “a health emergency’.”

Between 2017 and 2022, Bloodworth received $4,196,247 in total compensation from America’s Power, including one year as Chief Operating Officer.

• America’s Power is a 501(c)(6) tax-exempt trade association representing companies that supply fuel and operate coal-fired power plants.

• Their mission statement reads:

  • “America’s Power is the only national trade organization whose sole mission is to advocate at the federal and state levels on behalf of the U.S. coal fleet and its supply chain. The nation’s fleet of more than approximately 400 coal-fired generating units located across 42 states provides affordable, reliable, dispatchable and energy-secure electricity on a 24/7 basis.”

  • “To carry out our mission, we engage constructively with elected and appointed officials, policymakers, and key stakeholders. Our engagement promotes sound public policies that recognize the importance of the coal fleet and its supply chain. We believe a healthy mix of reliable, affordable and energy-secure resources is essential for economic growth and national security. Furthermore, we believe that technology innovation is the best strategy to achieve economically sustainable environmental progress.”

• America’s Power is focused on all aspects of the coal industry, including producers, transporters, railroad and barge operators, and other companies with a stake in the continued operation of coal for electricity. 

• Its page titled “The Coal Fleet” tries to paint coal in a favorable light, calling it “reliable,” “resilient,” and “affordable.” The environment is not mentioned. 

• The “Coal Facts” page on their website also does not mention the environment or climate once. Instead, its tone-deaf boasts include: 

  • “In 2023, Coal supplied 20% of electricity generated in the U.S.”

  • “The U.S. has the largest coal reserves in the world with 250 billion tons of recoverable coal reserves. That’s more than 420 years of coal at current production levels.” 

The coal industry has been on the ropes, isolated by other sectors of the energy sector as the dirtiest form of energy in the mix.

The Sierra Club waged a multi-year campaign, Beyond Coal, to shut down coal plants around the United States. There have been 384 coal plants in the U.S. that have been retired and another 146 continue to operate.

• “...there’s certainly been a war on coal as it relates to this administration. Certainly no secrets. I wouldn’t say it’s just coal. I think there certainly are a lot of policies coming forward that really want to see the retirement of both natural gas and coal…. we’ve spent a long time over the past, I would say three or four years really expressing our concern over the accelerated rate of the retirement of coal plants.” –Bloodworth on Power Hungry podcast February 8, 2024.

• “You know, it’s hard to beat days of stockpile of on-site coal, especially when you look at the challenges during a lot of these winter storms that natural gas faced, because natural gas is used for a lot of other things. And every coal plant that is retired obviously is putting that reliability and that fuel security greater at risk. And that’s why we’re saying we need to avoid the premature retirement of these coal plants that have a lot more life.” –Bloodworth on Power Hungry podcast February 8, 2024.

• “There are a lot of things that a new administration could do in order to deem coal plants as critical infrastructure, certainly thermal generation.” –Bloodworth on Power Hungry podcast February 8, 2024.

• “I believe in coal electricity, and I certainly think we need coal not only now, but we're going to need it in the foreseeable future.” –Bloodworth for CoalZoom, April 19, 2024

• “There have been numerous warnings about a pending grid reliability crisis. One of the primary reasons is the premature retirement of dispatchable electricity resources, mostly coal. Despite these clear warnings which began several years ago, an alarming number of coal-fired power plants continue to retire, and the pace of these retirements is faster than most people realize. To  make matters worse, the Carbon Rule and other EPA regulations will cause even more premature coal retirements.” –Bloodworth’s Testimony Before FERC, November 8, 2023

• “The future is bright for the energy industry” –Bloodworth on X, Dec. 3, 2016