None of the 446 power plants analyzed in this report meet the requirement for nitrogen oxide emissions applied to new power plants, even though the technology exists to radically reduce pollution from outdated coal-fire power plants, and to switch from coal to clean and affordable sources of power. The report blamed the emissions increases on two loopholes in the Clean Air Act. One loophole grandfathers pollution from power plants planned or constructed before 1977, allowing them to pollute up to 10 times more than new facilities. The other allows all power plants, regardless of age, to emit unlimited amounts of carbon dioxide and the toxic metal mercury. In 1992, Congress also fueled this advantage by deregulating the wholesale power market without equalizing environmental standards for all power plants.
Wholesale power is the electricity that utilities sell to each other.
Deregulation of this market helped increase the demand for power from existing, coal-fired facilities, while simultaneously discouraging the construction of new, cleaner plants. Protection of public health demands that we end our reliance on old, coal-burning power plants. Tim Mallan, environmental affairs officer for AEP's West Virginia operations, said he was surprised that the report tied increased coal usage to the wholesale market deregulation. Mallan added that any move to cleaner fuels, such as natural gas, would hurt West Virginia.