Clean Technology for Clean Coal Energy
Emissions in the United States are far cleaner than they were 25 years ago. Cars produce fewer emissions, and electric plants have better pollution controls.
In Texas, our air is becoming progressively cleaner. According to the EPA, not only are pollutants decreasing, the emissions that affect the concentrations of these pollutants are dropping as well. In fact, a 2005 Energy & Environmental Research Center report sponsored by the EPA stated, “other states with less successful [coal combustion product (CCP)] utilization can learn from what Texas has done right and implement similar activities in their own states.”
Advanced coal plant technology and process improvements have resulted in dramatic reductions in environmental impact. Emissions data indicates that the Texas fleet of coal units is far cleaner than the national average – cleaner, in fact, than almost every other state. The next generation plants already underway will have some of the lowest SO2, NOX and mercury emissions in the nation and will be 80 percent cleaner than the average U.S. coal plant. These plants will not only reduce emissions at an even greater rate, but capture the valuable byproducts of coal which can be used in other clean energy processes, such as coal ash.
According to the EPA, 13.7 million tons of coal ash were recycled and used in place of Portland cement in 2007, saving the United States nearly 73 trillion BTUs of energy — equivalent to the annual energy consumption of more than 676,000 households. Greenhouse gas emissions were also reduced by 12.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions — roughly the annual GHG emissions of 2.3 million cars.
Over the past 30 years, our nation’s coal-based electricity providers have invested over $90 billion in technologies to reduce emissions, while at the same time providing affordable, reliable electricity to meet growing energy needs. Our member companies will continue to work closely with the federal and state governments to develop, demonstrate and implement the next generation of advanced technologies that will make it possible to reduce regulated emissions even further (to near-zero levels) and capture and store greenhouse gases.
