A new report from a local environmental group highlights the nation’s dirtiest power plants.
The report from the Environment Massachusetts Research & Policy Center says power plants are the largest contributors to global warming pollution. Although no Massachusetts plants made it to the top 100 list, the state’s plants combined produce as much carbon each year as 3.8 million cars, according to the study.
Ben Hellerstein, of Environment Massachusetts, said the report sheds light on the need to shrink the carbon footprint of the state’s power plants.
“The fact is that there are steps that the owners can take to reduce their carbon emissions, but at the end of the day, they are still burning fossil fuels, they’re still burning dirty sources of energy, so we definitely would encourage them to adopt any and all measures to reduce their emissions, but over the long term, we need to be transitioning to cleaner sources of energy, like solar and wind," Hellerstein said.
At the top of Massachusetts' list is the Mystic Generating Station in Charlestown, and at number three is the Fore River station in Weymouth, both owned by Exelon Power.
Exelon Power spokesman Kevin Thornton said the company has done everything it can do to be clean, efficient plants.
“The only reason we are on the list is that we are large power plants and they run a lot," Thornton said. "Those two power plants produce 40 to 50 percent of the energy to meet demand in the New England area. And so based on size, we’ve done everything we can do.”
Thornton said Exelon is moving to limit carbon emissions, but the infrastructure in place can make it challenging.
“A lot of the infrastructure that exists to meet demand is already in place," he said. "It’s not like you can just shut down a huge power plant no matter what it’s driven by, and say, we’ll replace it with renewables — and renewable has its own set of issues. I don’t think there is any perfect answer except to have a balanced portfolio and not rely on any one energy source, and I think we’re moving toward that.”
Massachusetts fared better in comparison to other plants in the country. The most carbon-polluting power plant in the nation, Georgia Power Company’s Plant Scherer, emits as much carbon pollution as 4.4 million cars.
But Hellerstein said more needs to be done on a state and regional level to address the larger impact of global warming.
“What these plants are doing right now is making an outside contribution to global warming, which is putting communities across the state of Massachusetts at risk," Hellerstein said. "So we need to put the safety and the health of our communities above the profits of the fossil fuel companies. And I would say that’s the message of our report, is we need these nationwide standards to limit carbon pollution from power plants in order to keep our community safe.”
The report comes as the Obama administration prepares a new set of rules to address global warming. This summer, Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency to propose limits on carbon pollution from new and existing power plants. The EPA is expected to propose an updated rule for cutting carbon pollution from new power plants on September 20.
Read more about the future of nuclear power in New England here.
