FirstEnergy Corp. (FE), Duke Energy Corp (DUK): America’s 10 Dirtiest Power Plants

5. NRG Energy‘s Texas Power WA Parish plant makes the top five, but its days of emissions may soon be over. The Department of Energy and NRG are splitting $338 million to run a carbon capture experiment on the plant, potentially paving the way for “cleaner coal.” The company has big plans and hopes that extracted carbon dioxide can eventually be used to enhance oil extraction operations in the Texas Gulf Coast. Now that’s carbon trading.

Source: NRG Energy

4. Ameren Corp (NYSE:AEE)‘s Union Electric Labadie plant in Missouri, located 35 miles outside St. Louis, inches closer to a top spot with 18.8 MMT. Coal waste has been an issue for residents and shareholders alike. According to SourceWatch, the plant’s ash pond has been seeping around 35 gallons of coal byproduct every minute since 1992. Locals opposed a new coal ash site in 2010, and a 2011 shareholder resolution to disclose waste-management practice risks missed a majority vote by 4 percentage points.

3. Privately owned Luminant Generation’s Texas Martin Lake power plant takes third place, emitting 18.8 MMT of carbon every year. They say everything’s bigger in Texas, but second and first place suggest otherwise.

2 and 1. The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) snags silver and gold for most polluting plants. Its Alabama James Miller Jr. facility emits 20.7 MMT a year, while Georgia’s Scherer plant emits 21.3 MMT, more carbon dioxide pollution than all of Maine consumes in a year. That’s a lot of lobster boils. Scherer is a joint venture operation (NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) has 76% ownership in one of four units) and provides around 3,520 MW of capacity to the Southeast. The plant may be the top polluter, but it also pulls its weight in generation and has churned out 21 billion net MW of generation since 1982.

Source: The Southern Company (NYSE:SO).

Cutting out the carbon
These 10 facilities are the worst of the worst. The quest for clean power isn’t as easy as pointing fingers at polluting plants — but it’s a start. Coal is a common characteristic of all 10 plants, and smart utilities are already making their exit from this carbon-emitting fuel source. With this hit list in hand, carbon cleanup is clearer than ever. From natural gas to wind, alternatives exist that won’t ever make this list. Progressive power companies are already cutting out coal and exploring options that reveal coal for what it really is — a carbon clunker.

The article America’s 10 Dirtiest Power Plants originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Justin Loiseau.

Fool contributor Justin Loiseau has no position in any stocks mentioned, but he does use electricity. You can follow him on Twitter, @TMFJLo, and on Motley Fool CAPS, @TMFJLo.The Motley Fool recommends Southern.

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