Power Plants Among the Largest Industrial Climate Polluters in Pennsylvania

Power plants and big industrial facilities in Pennsylvania release millions of tons of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report that ranks the top climate-polluting facilities in the state. The environmental advocacy organization PennEnvironment released the “Pennsylvania Dirty Dozen” report on May 9. 

The “dirty dozen” identified by the report are 12 facilities in Pennsylvania that release an estimated fifth of the state’s total greenhouse gas pollution. All but one of the 12 are coal- or gas-fired power plants.  

Forthcoming regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency expected to sharply limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 2040 would likely apply to Pennsylvania’s top-emitting power plants and result in decreased pollution, said Brian Murray, interim director of Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability. 

Tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act are also expected to help “amplify” the country’s energy transition, Murray said.