These cuts were required of Illinois and 19 other states when in 1998, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adopted a rule mandating that 20 states, mostly in the eastern third of the country, develop state implementation plans (SIPs) to further reduce summertime NOx emissions from coal-fired power plants.
"The air in Illinois is getting cleaner, and our state's power generators can point to an admirable record for reducing emissions. This is further evidence that regulations under the federal Clean Air Act are effective in mitigating the environmental impact of power generation and other industrial activities," said Jim Monk, IEA president.
"Our member companies have driven emissions to very low levels through the highly effective use of technology. In fact, the state's electricity generating companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the past few years to comply with tough, new federal and state standards, and they expect to spend hundreds of millions more to meet pending federal regulations through 2018."
Generation-owning members of the Illinois Energy Association, which includes subsidiaries of Ameren and Dynegy as well as Midwest Generation LLC, operate or receive power from 19 Illinois-based coal-fired generating plants. These plants provide almost 13,000 megawatts of generating capacity to meet the average needs of more than 14 million homes.
Nearly 3,000 power plant jobs (most represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the International Union of Operating Engineers or the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers) and thousands of other jobs related to the transport of coal and maintenance of plants are connected to coal-fired power.
NOx forms ground-level ozone or smog when combined with sunlight and hydrocarbons and is principally a byproduct of automobiles and industrial processes. To address this issue, electric generators across the nation began complying in 1996 with the first phase of federal regulations established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
Formed in 1994 and based in Springfield, Ill., the Illinois Energy Association serves as a vehicle to develop industry positions and policies on legislative and regulatory issues. The group's objective is to improve the industry's effectiveness in its dealings and communications with the public sector.
SOURCE Ameren; Illinois Energy Association
Gary Mack of Americans for Balanced Energy Choices, +1-630-357-7552, or Leigh Morris of Ameren, +1-217-535-5228
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