Global Warming Emissions From Coal-fired Power Plants in U.S. to
Rise in 2013 After Long Decline
Coal-Based Generation Projected To Increase Nearly 9 Percent in 2013;
Worst 5 States for 2012 Coal-Based CO2 Pollution Are TX, FL, PA, IN, OH
Washington, DC, May 23, 2013 -
After a major fall-off in carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution from coal-fired
electric power plants of 13.1 percent between 2005 and 2012, the first
quarter of 2013 has seen a substantial jump in carbon dioxide emissions
from coal – a 7.1 percent increase in the first three months of 2013
compared to the same period last year, according to a new Environmental
Integrity Project (EIP) analysis of recent data from the U.S
Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA). The drop in carbon dioxide emissions between 2005
and 2012 is due in large part to greater reliance on natural gas, the
rapid development of wind energy, moderate demand, and the closure of
aging coal plants to avoid pollution control requirements.
Global warming emissions from coal-based electricity are projected to
continue to increase throughout 2013, as rising natural gas prices
encourage more use of coal.The latest projections from the EIA indicate
that coal-based generation will increase 8.7 percent this year compared
to last, although it is not expected to return to the peak levels of 5
to 10 years ago.
Available online at
http://www.environmentalintegrity.org, the EIP report also
highlights the five states and power plants that were the worst
offenders when it came to CO2 emissions in 2012. Texas emitted the most
tons of CO2 in 2012 from its coal-based electricity generation: 251
million tons, virtually unchanged from 2005, and more than twice the
amount emitted by electric generators in any other single state.The
second worst offender was Florida, followed by Pennsylvania, Indiana and
Ohio.These five states accounted for nearly a third of total CO2
emissions from power plants in the U.S. last year.
Environmental Integrity Project Director Eric Schaeffer said: As natural
gas gets more expensive, coal is finding its way back into the U.S.
electricity generation picture, and that means higher carbon dioxide
emissions. Although power companies plan to retire45 gigawatts of coal
capacity through 2016 due to low natural gas prices, the increased
availability of renewables, moderate demand, and the cost of complying
with long delayed Clean Air Act rules, a change in just one of those
factors (natural gas prices) can encourage plant operators to squeeze
more generation out of remaining coal plants."
The Energy Information Administration projects that natural gas prices
will increase about 34 percent above 2012 levels while prices for coal
remain flat, making it attractive to power companies with the capacity
to switch to cheaper fuels.
Additional highlights of the EIP report include the following:
- With natural gas prices at unusually low levels in 2012,
gas-fired generation reached a new height of 1.23 billion megawatt
hours in 2012, an increase of more than 60 percent since 2005, while
electricity from coal declined nearly 25 percent over the same
period.
- Wind powered generation, which releases no greenhouse gas
emissions at all, climbed to nearly 141 million megawatt hours in
2012, a more than sevenfold increase from 2005.It is expected to
increase an additional 30 percent by 2014.
- Demand for U.S. electricity is expected to increase only about 1
percent according to the EIA, following flat demand over the last
seven years.
Schaeffer added:"Natural gas releases about half as much carbon dioxide
as coal when burned for electricity, but its price can swing widely and
that volatility encourages companies to hang on to dirty and inefficient
coal plants. It is time for s tates who have been slow to embrace energy
efficiency or no-carbon renewables like wind and solar to step up if we
want to decrease global warming emissions in the long term."
Additional state-specific findings in the report include the
following:
- States that still depend on coal emit far more carbon dioxide
per megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity generated than those with a
more diverse mix of fuels and renewable sources of power. Kentucky
was the worst offender in 2012 when it comes to power plants
emitting the most carbon dioxide per MWh.It emitted more CO2 than
any other state, nearly twice the national average, and more than
four times the state-wide emission rate for California's power
plants.
- Second on the list of states emitting the most CO2 per MWh was
Wyoming, followed by West Virginia, Indiana and North Dakota.
- The five states with the lowest CO2 emission rates for the
amount of electricity produced are: Idaho (lowest), Washington,
Vermont, Oregon and Connecticut.
Emissions data was obtained from the US Environmental Protection
Agency's Air Markets Program Database, while net generation data was
obtained from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's latest
reports.
ABOUT EIP
The Environmental Integrity Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit
organization established in March of 2002 by former EPA enforcement
attorneys to advocate for effective enforcement of environmental laws.
EIP has three goals: 1) to provide objective analyses of how the failure
to enforce or implement environmental laws increases pollution and
affects public health; 2) to hold federal and state agencies, as well as
individual corporations, accountable for failing to enforce or comply
with environmental laws; and 3) to help local communities obtain the
protection of environmental laws.
For More Information Contact
Ailis Wolf
Environmental Integrity Project
(703) 276-3265
www.environmentalintegrity.org
aawolf@hastingsgroup.com
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