In New England, there are currently fourteen
power plants that were built before 1977. When the Clean Air Act
was passed in 1970 and 1977, the utility industry fought hard
to exempt these plants from abiding by the regulated emission
standards. They argued that newer, cleaner plants would soon replace
these plants, in any event. The utility industry prevailed with
the result that these "grandfathered" coal and oil plants
are still allowed to pollute four to ten times as much as the
new power plants.
Compared to these newer power plants, the old ones are highly
problematic in that they are extremely inefficient. On
average, they are only 30% efficient, which means they waste 70%
of the fuel burned. Because the "Filthy 14" are not required
to make their plants more efficient, they spend less money than
the newer plants that comply with modern emission standards.
This gives them a cost advantage through what,
in effect, represents a government subsidy. The result is that
the older and dirtier plants can generate electricity in the least
expensive way and offer it to the competitive market at a low
rate. This, in turn, leads to yet more pollution, for the average
customer tends to rely
on those plants with the lowest prices.
"Filthy 14"
1. Brayton Point (Somerset, MA)
2. Merrimack (Bow, NH)
3. Salem Harbor (Salem, MA)
4. Canal (Sandwich, MA)
5. Bridgeport Harbor (Bridgeport, CT)
6. Mystic (Charlestown, MA)
7. Middletown (Middletown, CA)
8. Mt. Tom (Holyoke, MA)
9. Schiller (Portsmouth, NH)
10. New Haven Harbor (New Haven, CT)
11. Newington (Newington, NH)
12. Wyman (Yarmouth, ME)
13. Norwalk Harbor (Norwalk, CT)
14. Montville (Montville, CT) Mt. Tom Power Plant in Holyoke, MA
| Massachusetts Filthy Five |
|
Age | Emission Reduction* SO2 tons | Emission Reduction* NOx tons | Pollution Subsidy** per kWh |
| Brayton Point | Somerset | 1963 | 35,224 | 8,186 | .64¢ |
| Salem Harbor | Salem | 1952 | 41,145 | 2,894 | .72¢ |
| Mystic | Charlestown | 1957 | 13,191 | 1,178 | .92¢ |
| Canal | Sandwich | 1968 | 19,122 | 2,948 | .93¢ |
| Mount Tom | Holyoke | 1960 | 7,961 | 1,661 | .57¢ |
*annual emission reduction from meeting modern standards
Source:
Again, all information is taken from the "Polluting
Power" report. The information in this table is from
the EPA Acid Rain and Energy Information Administration.
