how do power plants know how much they can pollute
"I was really surprised and interested to see how much difference there is for a given power plant from one day to the next," says co-author Valerie Thomas, a professor of natural systems at Georgia Tech, adding the impact of emissions could change by 100 percent in a single day. "This is another means of managing.". United States Environmental Protection Agency, Total U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Economic Sector in 2012, Health and climate effects of carbon pollution, Learn About Carbon Pollution From Power Plants, Clean Power Plan Resources for Communities, Changes in weather and precipitation patterns, Changes in ecosystems, habitats and species diversity, Worsening smog (also called ground-level ozone pollution), Increasing the intensity of extreme events, like hurricanes, extreme precipitation and flooding, Increasing the range of ticks and mosquitoes, which can spread disease such as Lyme disease and West Nile virus. The study, Thomas says, is just the beginning of a potential new avenue toward pollution cuts: "This is the first time that's it's been shown that it's feasible to do this.". But Thomas notes that the adjustments can be done right away, as opposed to waiting for scrubbers to be installed. Ramping plants up and down to minimize health impacts would have raised electricity generation costs by $83.6 million over the study's eight-year period. Of the major energy sources, natural gas represented a 33.8 percent share in 2016, and coal represented 30.4 percent. Pollution control can make power plants safer: Flue gas combustion modification can change oxygen content or temperature of combustion to reduce the amount of partially oxidized nitrogen compounds. The electric power sector accounted for 32% of U.S. total greenhouse gas emissions in 2012. Power plant cooling intakes harm aquatic life: Cooling water intakes draw fluid in at a high rate. Dams were cited as among the riskiest power generating facilities in the world. © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, © 2015- Air pollution has dropped, as the economy has grown, since the Clean Air Act: Since the Act was introduced in 1970, common pollutants such as carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, and others dropped an average of 70 percent. Fossil fuels generate the most electricity: Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are used to generate … These have irregular surfaces that allow sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides to bind to them. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge. Sulfate deposits, according to the EPA, dropped by over 55 percent in the Eastern U.S. between two observation periods â from 1989 to 1991 and 2009 to 2011. Experts say it prevented more deaths than it caused, and prevented more carbon dioxide equivalent emissions than it released. "All areas in Southern Company's service territory have air quality that meets the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter, which is the focus of this study," the company said through a spokesperson. Power plants discharge polluted water: Many power plants are placed along bodies of water, where they can draw it in for cooling. Coal power plants release particulate matter: Soot contains particles anywhere from 2.5 to 10 micrometers in diameter. And already, the first half of this year has recorded warmer than normal temperatures. Reduced power plant emissions have cut acid rain: National restrictions on air pollution has cut sulfur dioxide emissions, which has reduced the amount of acid rain reported and introduced into lakes and streams.
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