New England experienced another year of decline in harmful emissions, according to the 2017 ISO New England Electric Generator Air Emissions Report. The reduction is due mostly to a decline in the area’s use of power plants that use fossil fuels.
The below tables, from ISO Newswire, show the year-over-year reduction in emissions.
According to the preliminary report, several key factors contributed to the declines, including:
The decline in emissions represents a long-term trend for the New England area, considering natural gas-fired resources account for the vast majority of new generators built in New England since 1997. The report notes that ongoing trends to meet electricity needs with higher-efficiency, lower-emitting gas-fired generators instead of oil- and coal-fired generators have been the biggest contributor to the long-term decline in regional emissions. Transmission system upgrades have further reduced the need to run older, less efficient oil and coal units.
On the other end of the spectrum, Maryland is turning to the courts in an effort to control emissions from power plants in the area. In September 2018, Maryland officials announced plans to appeal an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision to deny the state’s efforts to reduce emissions from 36 power plants in five upwind states.
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said the EPA’s decision is “wrong” and if the ruling is allowed to stand, “the air Marylanders breathe will be dirtier, especially on the hottest days of the summer — through no fault of ours,” according to the Baltimore Sun.
The news site notes that most of the state’s congressional delegation — Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Reps. Steny Hoyer, Elijah Cummings, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, John Delaney, Anthony Brown, and Jamie Raskin — released a statement in support of the legal action. They urged state officials to “take all measures possible to appeal and overturn this decision.”
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