Coal Catharsis
Alliant Energy’s Columbia Energy Center coal plants in Columbia County are the state’s largest mercury emitters accounting for 1,329 pounds of airborne mercury emissions in 2010 or more than one third of Wisconsin’s emissions (Wisconsin Environment, November 2011). Alliant will begin a $627million project to control mercury emissions in 2012, compelled by Wisconsin’s standards that are as stringent as the new federal standards.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Mercury Air Toxics Standards in December for controlling mercury, acid gases and other air toxics from oil- and coal-burning power plants. In Wisconsin, EPA reports that the new standards will prevent up to 220 premature deaths while creating up to $1.8 billion in health benefits in 2016 http://www.epa.gov/airquality/powerplanttoxics/whereyoulive/wi.html. Every dollar spent to reduce power plant pollution, will result in up to $9 in public health benefits, and the resultant total health and economic benefits could be as much as $90 billion annually. Overall, mercury emissions in Wisconsin will be reduced by the federal standards in large part due to reduced emissions from coal plants of neighboring states that lack strong state standards.
Filed under: Energy