Posted on 10/03/2005 8:36:50 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
GENEVA (AFP) - Coal-fired power stations in Greece, Germany and Spain top a new table of Europe's dirtiest electricity plants, the environmental group WWF International said.
In its new "Dirty Thirty" ranking of power station pollution in the European Union, WWF said Greece's Agios Dimitrios plant was the worst, followed closely by Frimmersdorf in Germany and Abono in Spain.
It ranked plants across the 25-nation EU according to their efficiency -- a calculation based on the number of grammes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted per Kilowatt hour of electricity generated.
CO2 is the biggest of the greenhouse gases that trap the sun's heat and cause Earth's temperature to rise. The pollution results from burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal.
"The power sector is responsible for 37 percent of all man-made CO2," said Imogen Zethoven, head of the WWF's power campaign.
"Coal-fired power stations rank dirtiest, because they use the most CO2-intense fuel. To switch off global warming we have to replace them with cleaner alternatives, such as gas and renewables," she said, referring to solar, wind and water power.
Other Greek, German and Spanish power stations, as well as one at Turow in Poland filled out the top ten.
The remainder of the list included more Polish and German plants, and their equivalents in Britain, the Czech Republic, Italy and Portugal.
Germany is home to five of the ten dirtiest plants, and four of those are run by the country's giant RWE, which is the biggest CO2 emitter in the European power sector, said the WWF.
The ranking showed that only half a dozen companies account for 19 of the 30 dirtiest power stations -- besides RWE, the include Vattenfall (Sweden), Enel (Italy), Endesa (Spain), E.ON (Germany) and EDF (France).
Not all the plants are in the company's home country.
Over the next two decades, many of the "Dirty Thirty" are set to be decommissioned, noted the WWF, calling this a "historic window of opportunity to cut CO2 pollution."
Replacing them all with new coal power stations would result in a 13.5 percent cut in their total CO2 emissions by 2030, it said.
A shift to gas would slash their CO2 by 47.8 percent, while replacing them with renewable energy sources would result in a 73.4 percent cut.
Under the UN's Kyoto Protocol, industrial countries that have ratified the treaty are required to trim pollution of carbon gases by a deadline of 2012 as compared with a 1990 benchmark.
But this effort falls far sure of what is needed to avoid climate change, which could stoke a global disaster, scientists say.
The deal does not include the world's top polluter, the United States, nor developing countries such as China and India, where economic growth is driving up emissions.
Coal-fire power station. Coal-fired power stations in Greece, Germany and Spain top a new table of Europe's dirtiest electricity plants, the environmental group WWF International said.(AFP/File)
But this effort falls far sure of what is needed to avoid climate change, which could stoke a global disaster, scientists say. The deal does not include the world's top polluter, the United States, nor developing countries such as China and India, where economic growth is driving up emissions.
how about that for a blanket statement?
The WWF was founded with oil money.
A lot of environmental activists use their lobbying days to flesh out their resumés so they can work for oil companies and other manufacturers.
1 Bowen GA 164,881
2 W H Sammis OH 164,395
3 Keystone PA 163,493
4 Homer City PA 151,676
5 Hatfields Ferry Power Station PA 139,423
6 Muskingum River OH 139,119
7 Gibson IN 136,534
8 Conesville OH 133,207
9 E C Gaston AL 130,403
10 Montour PA 124,776
11 J M Stuart OH 124,198
12 John E Amos WV 114,017
13 Warrick IN 108,675
14 Paradise KY 108,462
15 Monroe MI 108,043
16 Roxboro NC 103,935
17 Fort Martin Power Station WV 102,521
18 Crystal River FL 101,673
19 Johnsonville TN 100,017
20 Cardinal OH 96,927
21 Wansley GA 93,977
22 Kingston TN 91,984
23 Marshall NC 90,990
24 Big Brown TX 86,338
25 Morgantown MD 85,340
26 Scherer GA 83,938
27 Monticello TX 82,439
28 Miami Fort OH 81,514
29 Chesterfield Power Station VA 80,549
30 Martin Lake TX 75,972
31 Brunner Island PA 73,730
32 Kyger Creek OH 72,341
33 Harllee Branch GA 69,827
34 Eastlake OH 67,682
35 Jeffrey Energy Center KS 67,611
36 Cayuga IN 66,961
37 Walter C Beckjord OH 64,869
38 Wabash River IN 64,593
39 W A Parish TX 60,678
40 Gorgas AL 59,341
41 Mitchell WV 59,330
42 Belews Creek NC 58,645
43 Colbert AL 57,480
44 E W Brown KY 56,745
45 Labadie MO 56,631
46 Coleman KY 55,449
47 E D Edwards IL 55,035
48 Rockport IN 53,561
49 R Gallagher IN 53,340
50 Tanner's Creek IN 53,174
Gotta love the Midwest, lol!
Typically stupid ranking for "polluting." Is that "tons," or "tons per megawatt hour"? It does make a difference.
This ranking structurally attacks larger plants (which makes sense if you are shilling for fuel oil or natural gas).
I am sure all those countries signed the Kyoto Accord. They will be clean as a whistle in no time.
" how about that for a blanket statement?"
What till the ice age starts, they will need those blankets.
On the serious side. It has been long known about the huge pollution problems Europe have had. The governments allowed the companies to operate oil refinearies for instance with minimal or no anti-polution equipment. There are areas in Europe that are as bad as parts of New Jersey/Philadelphia/Neward where for many years. What are they supposed to do, close down everything, and go back to the stone age. Lots of serious problems with to few reasonable solutions.
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