U.S. Power Plants See Significant Reductions in Global Warming Pollution

Strategic Insights -

The most comprehensive analysis to date on U.S. power plant air pollution emissions shows that most of the nation's largest electric utilities have seen significant reductions in global warming pollution in recent years. The report, released by the Natural Resources Defense Council, comes as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prepares to finalize the Clean Power Plan to further reduce that pollution. The report found that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants decreased 12 percent from 2008 through 2013, and that the economy has continued to grow even as CO2 emissions have declined.

Key Takeaways:

  • CO2 emissions from power plants decreased 12 percent from 2008 through 2013, with a large majority of states (42) decreasing their electric sector CO2 emissions by an average of 19 percent during the same period.
  • On a state level, 40 states decreased their all-source CO2 emission rates by an average of 18 percent between 2008 and 2013.
  • CO2 emissions rates (a measure of the carbon intensity of a power provider's fuel mix) vary 10-fold among the top 100 producers, from a high of 2,264 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour of power (lb/MWh) for Big Rivers Electric in 2013, to 200 lb/MWh or less for companies such as Exelon, New York Power Authority, PG&E Corporation, and Iberdrola.
  • Southeast (Entergy and Dominion), Midwest (Hoosier Energy and Associated Electric Cooperatives) and Southwest/West (OGE and Xcel) power producers are among those achieving some of the highest levels of improvement in their CO2 emission rates (pounds per megawatt hour, lb/MWh).
  • Coal accounted for 40 percent of the power produced by the top 100 power producers, followed by natural gas at 26 percent, nuclear at 22 percent, and renewable power, including large hydroelectric, and other at 14 percent.
  • The utilization, or capacity factors, of coal plants continues to decline relative to natural gas plants, with coal plants' average utilization rates declining from 73 to 61 percent, and natural gas plants increasing their utilization from 40 to 48 percent between 2008 and 2014.
  • The nation's power plants remain the largest source of carbon pollution, and the report concludes that the good news is that America's utilities are on a path to achieve the EPA's Clean Power Plan and its major carbon pollution reductions.

Statistics:

  • CO2 emissions decreased by 12 percent from 2008 through 2013.
  • 42 states decreased their electric sector CO2 emissions by an average of 19 percent between 2008 and 2013.
  • 40 states decreased their all-source CO2 emission rates by an average of 18 percent between 2008 and 2013.
  • CO2 emissions rates vary 10-fold among the top 100 producers, from a high of 2,264 lb/MWh for Big Rivers Electric in 2013, to 200 lb/MWh or less for companies such as Exelon, New York Power Authority, PG&E Corporation, and Iberdrola.
  • Coal plants' average utilization rates declined from 73 to 61 percent between 2008 and 2014.
  • Natural gas plants' utilization increased from 40 to 48 percent between 2008 and 2014.
  • The top 5 power producers (Duke, AEP, Southern, NRG, and MidAmerican) generate 25 percent of CO2 emissions, though Southern has seen a significant decline in emissions (27 percent) since 2000, and Duke has seen a 10 percent decline in its emissions rate even after its recent merger with Progress Energy.
  • SO2 and NOX emissions in 2013 were 80 percent and 74 percent lower, respectively, than they were in 1990, when major amendments to the Clean Air Act were passed.
  • Mercury emissions have decreased 50 percent since 2000, when the industry was first required to report their mercury emissions to EPA.

Sources:

  • Natural Resources Defense Council, "Benchmarking Air Emissions: 11th Edition" (2015)
  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Clean Power Plan
  • Ceres, "Benchmarking Air Emissions: 11th Edition" (2015)
  • M.J. Bradley & Associates, "Benchmarking Air Emissions: 11th Edition" (2015)
  • Bank of America, "About Us"
  • Calpine, "About Us"
  • Entergy Corporation, "About Us"
  • Exelon Corporation, "About Us"
  • Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), "About Us"