Environment R.I. rallies support for new EPA carbon regulations

THE BRAYTON POINT POWER PLANT, pictured above, is one of the largest global warming polluters in the Rhode Island area, according to an Environment Rhode Island report released Friday. / COURTESY DOMINION RESOURCES INC.
THE BRAYTON POINT POWER PLANT, pictured above, is one of the largest global warming polluters in the Rhode Island area, according to an Environment Rhode Island report released Friday. / COURTESY DOMINION RESOURCES INC.

PROVIDENCE – Environment Rhode Island released a report Friday highlighting the environmental impact of power plants as the country’s largest contributors to global warming pollution and calling for support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed carbon pollution standards.

The report, titled America’s Dirtiest Power Plants, was presented at the Mount Hope Boat Ramp in Bristol, in view of the Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset — the largest global warming polluter in the Rhode Island area, according to Environment Rhode Island.

“America’s dirtiest power plants are the major offenders when it comes to global warming,” said Channing Jones, campaign director with the Providence-based environmental advocacy organization. “Nearly a year has passed since the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, and we can’t afford to ignore power plants’ overwhelming contribution to global warming. For New England and America, tackling the problem means cleaning up the dirtiest power plants.”

According to the report, Rhode Island’s top carbon polluter is the Entergy plant in Johnston, which emits 1.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, or the equivalent of carbon emissions from 243,411 passenger vehicles.

- Advertisement -

The Brayton Point Power Station in nearby Somerset produces nearly as much carbon pollution as all Rhode Island’s power plants combined, Environment Rhode Island claims, producing 3.3 metric tons annually, or as much as 679,923 passenger vehicles emit in a year.

Other high polluters in Rhode Island named in the report include the Manchester Street Power Station in Providence, the Tiverton Power Plant and the two Ocean State Power facilities in Harrisville.

“As carbon pollution continues to compromise public health and wreak havoc on our atmosphere and oceans, this report shines a spotlight on the biggest [category of] culprits – power plants,” said U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, in a prepared statement. “Rhode Island and other states are doing their part to reduce emissions and invest in clean energy, but we need a nationwide solution.”

The Environment Rhode Island report was issued as the EPA — under the direction of President Barack Obama’s Climate Action Plan — proposed a new set of rules to cut carbon pollution from new power plants in order to combat climate change and improve public health.

“Climate change is one of the most significant public health challenges of our time,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, in a release. “These standards will also spark the innovation we need to build the next generation of power plants, helping grow a more sustainable clean energy economy.”

Under the proposal, carbon emissions from new large natural gas-fired turbines would be limited to 1,000 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour, while new small natural gas-fired turbines would be limited to 1,100 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour. New coal-fired units would need to meet a limit of 1,100 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour, and would have the option of adhering to a tighter limit if they chose to average emissions over multiple years, giving those units additional operational flexibility.

The EPA stated that the proposed standards will ensure that new power plants are built with available clean technology to limit carbon pollution, a requirement that is in line with investments in clean energy technologies that are already being made in the power industry.

Power plants are the largest concentrated source of emissions in the United States, together accounting for roughly one-third of all domestic greenhouse gas emissions, according to the EPA. Currently, nearly a dozen states have implemented or are implementing their own market-based programs to reduce carbon pollution.

In addition, more than 25 states have set energy efficiency targets, and more than 35 have set renewable energy targets. While the United States has limits in place for arsenic, mercury and lead pollution that power plants can emit, currently there are no national limits on the amount of carbon pollution new power plants can emit.

“Bristol has one of New England’s biggest carbon polluters right in our backyard,” said R.I. Rep. Raymond E. Gallison Jr., D-Bristol. “To ensure the health and safety of current and future Bristolians and Rhode Islanders, we need the EPA to act to rein in power plant pollution.”

National Grid U.S. President Tom King also voiced support for the proposed EPA regulations, saying that the new rule would “help provide certainty about what the EPA will require as investment decisions are made for power plants.”

No posts to display