70 Percent Cleaner
Over the last 30 years, America’s coal-based electricity providers have invested over $50 billion in technologies to reduce emissions. Due to investments like these, coal-based generating fleet is 70 percent cleaner on the basis of regulated emissions per unit of energy produced.
The calculations are based on five pollutants: carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter. The data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reflects the environmental performance per unit of energy produced. That is, the relationship of emissions per billion kilowatt-hours. From 1970 to 2000, the value for that ratio fell from 30,510 short tons per billion kilowatt-hours to just 8,040 short tons per billion kilowatt-hours — a reduction of 73.66 percent.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
* We did not track emissions of less than 100 tons per year; all other emission figures on this table are reported in thousands of short tons.
U.S.EPA, Air Trends, Basic Information
Carbon Monoxide
Nitrogen Oxide
Particulate Matter
Sulfer Dioxide
Volatile Organic Compounds
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