Emissions from New England power plants fall again/Mass Live

Such a positive trend.  This is a cornerstone of building a cleaner, brighter future.  Smartly powering our lives will lead to an amazing quality of life.


Twin cooling towers at the Brayton Point coal plant, which closed for good in 2017. Demolition of the towers is now underway.  (Mary Serreze)

Air pollution from the region's power plants continued to decline in 2017, continuing a long-term trend, according to a new draft reportfrom ISO New England.

Across six states, nitrogen oxide emissions decreased by 6 percent, sulfur dioxide by 11 percent and carbon dioxide by 7 percent over 2016 levels, according to the entity's annual electric generator air emissions report.

Total generation was down by 3 percent, reflecting an overall drop in demand for electricity. A smaller portion of the power was generated by fossil fuels, and more by renewables. ISO New England is the "independent system operator" that runs the region's wholesale power markets.

The emissions report, released earlier this month, comes as New England continues to see rapid change in its power mix.

For instance, in 2017, Brayton Point, the massive 1,500-megawatt coal plant in Somerset, closed for good. Two remaining coal plants in New Hampshire face an uncertain future.

Pilgrim Nuclear Station in Plymouth is due to shut down in 2019, removing 680 megawatts of capability -- enough to power 600,000 homes. Two other nuclear plants remain -- Millstone in Connecticut and Seabrook in New Hampshire. The two atomic energy plants recently won "zero-carbon" energy contracts with Connecticut utilities.

Separately, Massachusetts plans to procure 3,200 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035, which could provide a fifth of the state's energy. One project, the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind, hopes to start construction in 2019.

Massachusetts also has launched incentives for 1,600 megawatts of new solar capacity across the state.

The new ISO New England report contains some interesting data. While coal generation fell by 870 gigawatt hours in 2017, utility-scale solar and wind increased by 995 gigawatt hours, more than making up for the loss.

Still, 48 percent of the region's electricity was generated by natural gas, and 31 percent by nuclear power. Coal and oil each represented only 1 percent. Wind, solar, hydro, and other renewables made up the difference.

In fact, power sourced hydro generation grew 15 percent over the year in New England, with solar and wind up 31 percent.

The numbers showed a spike in petroleum oil use for power generation during December 2017, when a deep cold snap caused wholesale natural gas prices to soar.

ISO New England has been tracking the power sector emissions numbers since 2001. Since that year, the sector has seen a near-eradication of sulfur dioxide emissions, a three-quarters drop in nitrogen dioxide and a one-third cut in carbon dioxide emissions.

The fact that the power sector has grown cleaner now leaves transportation as the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts.