EPA about-face lets emissions soar at some coal plants

摘要

The coal-fired power industry again took a big hit last year, with total generation falling 6% by one group's count. But the industry's emissions of two dangerous pollutants didn't uniformly follow suit. While there were fewer operating coal-fired power plants, they often spewed more sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, according to recently released EPA data. Even as overall emissions of those pollutants fell across the country, releases from some large plants soared. Nine of the top 10 emitters of sulfur dioxide (SO2) increased discharges last year, in several cases by doubledigit percentages, the numbers show. Topping the list: Martin Lake, a 2,250-megawatt facility in East Texas owned by Luminant Generation Co. Last year, the plant belched almost 56,200 tons of SO2, up 54% from 2017. Other major polluters were the Gerald Gentleman Station in Nebraska, owned by the Nebraska Public Power District, and Entergy Corp.'s Independence facility in Arkansas. The Gentleman plant's SO2 emissions jumped 31%; they rose 24% at the Independence facility.