Washington (Platts)--27Jul2007

US environmentalists on Thursday updated their annual report showing the
highest-emitting power plants and the results are largely the same as they
were a year ago.

The 12 states with the dirtiest plants are mostly ones that are home to large
coal-fired power plants, according to the Environmental Integrity Project's
"50 Dirtiest US Power Plants" report.

Fuel choice and geography continue to be key factors in the EIP conclusions,
which are based on carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury
emissions data from 378 US power plants. 

The leading state with the dirtiest coal plants remains Texas with its
sizeable supply of lignite-fired power. EIP judged these states based on the
number of high-emitting coal plants they have.

Following Texas (five plants) in order of pollution level is: Pennsylvania
(four), Indiana (four), Alabama (three), Georgia (three), North Carolina
(three), Ohio (three), West Virginia (three), Wyoming (two), Florida (two),
Kentucky (two) and New Mexico (two).

"Nationwide, the power plants that provide electricity to run our homes,
businesses and factories also account for 40% of CO2, roughly two thirds of
SO2, 22% of NOX and roughly a third of all mercury emissions," the report
notes.

But a small number of the power plants cited in the report are the worst
offenders, according to EIP. "For example, just 14% of the 378 ranked
fossil-fuel-burning power plants account for 40% of SO2 emissions," the report
states. 

The report tags PSU Energy's Gallagher plant in Indiana as the top SO2
polluter, averaging 40 pounds of emissions per megawatt hour. SO2 emissions at
Southern Company's Bowen plan in Georgia have risen 20,000 short tons since
last year, EIP claims.

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