The massive Plant Scherer near Juliette, Ga. puts 21.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air every year, more than any other power plant in America. (AP Photo/Gene Blythe)

September 18, 2013

by John Light

Our energy (click here) comes from 6,000 power plants which together produce about 40 percent of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions, the main greenhouse gas driving climate change. But a handful of very large, very dirty plants are responsible for a disproportionate share of the problem.

A new report from two think tanks — the Frontier Group and the Environment America Research & Policy Center — takes a look at this small group of heavy polluters. The researchers found that the 50 dirtiest power plants in the U.S. are responsible for 30 percent of the energy industry’s CO2 emissions, and a full two percent of all emissions worldwide — these 50 plants were responsible for more climate change than all but six countries in the world.
The top 100 dirtiest plants in America produce 3.2 percent of the world’s carbon emissions — or roughly the same amount as all passenger vehicles in the U.S... 
 
Contributor to the study is Jeff Deyette. A brilliant man that deserves respect.

...He co-authored the UCS book (click here) Cooler, Smarter: Practical Steps for Low-Carbon Living and numerous UCS reports, including Ripe for Retirement: The Case for Closing America’s Costliest Coal Plants. He has also written extensively for UCS and various renewable energy industry publications on the consumer, employment, and environmental benefits of increasing our renewable energy use....

Select Publications

Deyette, J. 2012. Ripe for Retirement: The Case for Closing America’s Costliest Coal Plants. Union of Concerned Scientists. Cambridge, MA.

Deyette, J. 2012. Cooler, Smarter: Practical Steps for Low-Carbon Living. Union of Concerned Scientists. Cambridge, MA.

Deyette, J. 2011. A Bright Future for the Heartland: Powering the Midwest Economy with Clean Energy. Union of Concerned Scientists. Cambridge, MA.

Deyette, J. 2011. Tapping Into Wind Power. Union of Concerned Scientists. Cambridge, MA.

Deyette, J. 2010. Burning Coal, Burning Cash: Ranking the States that Import the Most Coal. Union of Concerned Scientists. Cambridge, MA.

Deyette, J. 2009. Clean Energy, Green Jobs. Union of Concerned Scientists. Cambridge, MA.

America’s power plants (click here) are among the most significant sources of carbon dioxide pollution in the world. The 50 most-polluting U.S. power plants emit more than 2 percent of the world’s energy-related carbon dioxide pollution – or more pollution than every nation except six worldwide.... 

...The top 100 dirtiest plants in America produce 3.2 percent of the world’s carbon emissions — or roughly the same amount as all passenger vehicles in the U.S.
Ninety-eight of the top 100 plants burn coal — the other two use natural gas — and currently there aren’t any standardized limits on the amount of emissions these plants spew out....

America's Fifty Dirtiest Power Plants (click here for interactive)

Number 1 is Scherer, Georgia Power Company with 21.3 million metric tons of CO2 in 2011

Number 2 James H. Miller, Jr. of Alabama Power Co.,
20.7 million metric tons of CO2 in 2011

Number 3 Martin Lake of Luminant Generation Company, LLC (of Texas), with 18.8 million metric tons of CO2 in 2011