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PA EPA ANNOUNCES NEW EMISSIONS DATABASE OF ELECTRIC POWER PLANTS

Release Date: 12/11/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, DEC. 11, 1998
EPA ANNOUNCES NEW EMISSIONS DATABASE OF ELECTRIC POWER PLANTS

EPA today announced a comprehensive air emission and fuel source database of virtually all electric power plants in the United States. Integrating 12 different federal databases, the new Emissions and Generation Resource Integrated Database, or “E-GRID,” provides information on emissions per unit of electricity, permitting direct comparisons of pollution levels from different power sources. E-GRID also shows, for individual power plants, companies, states, and regions, the amount and percentage of power from different fuels, such as coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydro (water), solar, and wind. EPA considers this information an important “right-to-know” tool, especially considering that the U.S. Dept. of Energy has reported that 18 states have already adopted policies allowing consumers to choose among competing electricity suppliers. EPA believes E-GRID will encourage the development of cleaner electricity resources by helping consumers understand product information provided by electric companies. E-GRID could also help EPA and state environmental regulators monitor changes in power plant emissions as the electricity industry becomes more competitive. E-GRID will initially report on carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions in 1996, but EPA is considering the addition of more pollutants in the future. The prototype version of E-GRID released today can be downloaded from the following Website: https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/egrid/egrid.htm. For further technical information, phone Rick Morgan of EPA’s Acid Rain Division at 202-564-9143.

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