Pollution from Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Power Plants

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Pollution from Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Power Plants

Photo courtesy of NREL

Key Statistics

Fossil fuel-fired electric power plants constitute the largest source of air pollution in the U.S. Based on real data from DOE sources, here are some striking facts about power plant pollution.

The U.S. uses fossil fuels to generate more than 2/3 of its electricity. 51% is generated with coal, 15% is generated with natural gas, and 3% is generated with petroleum.
In 1999, electric power plants produced approximately 2.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide, 12 million tons of sulfur dioxide, and 7 million tons of nitrogen oxides.
The average coal-fired power plant is only 1/3 efficient, meaning 2/3 of the energy in the fuel is wasted.
The average fossil fuel-fired power plant was built in 1964, long before the Clean Air Act began requiring pollution controls.
Of the largest 1000 fossil fuel-fired power plants in the U.S., 77% are not subject to pollution controls under the Clean Air Act's New Source Review requirements.
On average, power plants that are subject to New Source Review requirements emit much less sulfur dioxide per megawatt-hour of energy produced.

The Big 20

The following table lists the 20 largest fossil fuel-fired electric steam generating units in the U.S., based on their rated power output. All of these plants burn bituminous coal, and most of them have been exempted from Clean Air Act requirements.

Name State Capacity
(MW) Generation
(MW-hr) SO₂
(tons) CO₂
(tons) Built NSR

W H Zimmer OH 1426 8,458,095 21,633 8,234,203 1991 A

Cumberland #2 TN 1300 9,144,852 9,322 9,037,948 1973 -

Rockport #2 IN 1300 8,906,560 26,546 9,174,128 1989 D

Mountaineer WV 1300 8,658,904 43,309 8,286,792 1980 D

Gen J M Gavin #1 OH 1300 8,297,011 8,034 8,170,890 1974 -

J E Amos WV 1300 7,741,126 47,809 7,927,569 1973 -

Rockport #1 IN 1300 7,687,403 22,670 7,889,162 1984 D

Cumberland #1 TN 1300 7,414,269 7,456 7,331,144 1973 -

Gen J M Gavin #2 OH 1300 6,174,470 6,174 6,106,735 1975 -

Paradise #3 KY 1150 6,039,252 133,271 6,413,834 1970 -

Belews Creek #1 NC 1080 8,534,657 47,496 7,868,677 1974 -

Belews Creek #2 NC 1080 6,320,190 34,999 5,751,563 1975 -

Bowen #4 GA 952 6,044,042 37,932 5,771,791 1975 -

Wansley #1 GA 952 5,673,689 20,436 6,109,940 1976 -

Wansley #2 GA 952 5,626,795 20,125 6,089,405 1978 -

E C Gaston #5 AL 952 5,483,360 42,895 5,331,125 1974 -

Bowen #3 GA 952 5,363,754 34,295 5,169,572 1974 -

Bull Run TN 950 4,629,004 38,712 4,290,719 1967 -

Mansfield #2 PA 914 4,778,387 11,383 4,926,356 1977 -

Mansfield #3 PA 914 4,482,827 11,410 4,733,956 1980 D

Unit names followed by numbers indicate multiple units at the same facility.
Capacity is the rated power output of each plant in megawatts.
Generation is the total electricity generated by each plant in 1999 in megawatt-hours.
SO₂ and CO₂ are the amounts of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide produced by each plant in 1999.
NSR is the level of Clean Air Act-mandated New Source Review with which each plant must comply.
All data are as reported by each plant to the DOE.

References

U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, 2000: Annual Energy Review 1999, DOE/EIA-0384(99). (link)

U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, 2000: Electric Power Annual 1999, DOE/EIA-0348(99). (link)

U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, 1999: Electric Utility Statistics at the Unit Level.