Reducing air pollution from electricity-generating large combustion plants in the European Union

Air pollutant emissions could have been significantly lower if large European power plants operating in 2009 had met various EU standards, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) ‘Reducing air pollution from electricity-generating large combustion plants in the European Union’.

The report shows that considerable cuts in emissions are possible, for example, emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) from the selected plants could have been 36 % lower in 2009 had they met forthcoming emission limit values set in the Industrial Emission Directive (IED). Potential emission reductions for sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and dust were 66 % and 64 % respectively, according to the report. Emissions from large combustion plants are expected to decrease in the future with the implementation of the IED.

The report can be found at: www.eea.europa.eu/publications/reducing-air-pollution-from-electricity