Local power plant among state's 12 worst greenhouse gas polluters, study shows

May 10—Invenergy's power plant in Jessup ranks among the worst greenhouse gas polluters in the state, a statewide nonprofit's new study found.

"Pennsylvania's Dirty Dozen," the study released by PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center, ranks the 12 largest emitters, which in 2021 collectively released nearly 46 million metric tons of greenhouse gases. That's equivalent to 18% of the state's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2020.

Invenergy's Lackawanna Energy Center ranked fourth on the list, while the Moxie Freedom power plant in Salem Twp., Luzerne County, ranked twelfth. Both are gas-fired power plants; all but one of the "Dirty Dozen" facilities are power plants fueled by gas or coal.

"The interesting thing to me specifically about the Lackawanna Energy Center and others ... is that there are many gas-powered power plants that are on the top 12 list statewide that have opened since the beginning of 2018," PennEnvironment Deputy Director Ashleigh Deemer said. "This report really shows the limitations of transitioning to gas. ... It's really clear that they're right up there with coal-fired power plants in terms of climate pollution."

The controversial Invenergy facility was the subject of considerable local opposition before it became fully operational in early 2019, and has remained under heavy scrutiny in the years since. By early 2015, less than two years after Invenergy officials presented public plans for the project, residents had formed the group Citizens for a Healthy Jessup in opposition to it.

Jessup Borough Council President Gerald Crinella, a former Citizens for a Healthy Jessup member, wasn't surprised by the study's findings.

"We did a lot of research prior to the plant being sited there and we knew that that was going to be the case," Crinella said. "And that's why we ... raised so many concerns about it and wanted experts to look at it more diligently at the time so residents would be aware of what they were getting into."

The Lackawanna Energy Center was the 2021 top emitter in the state's northeast region, releasing about 3.75 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, according to the study. The Moxie Freedom plant's emissions totaled about 2.6 million metric tons that year.

Pennsylvania's worst climate polluter of 2021 was the Keystone Generating Station in Armstrong County, whose greenhouse gas pollution was equivalent to 724,000 trips around the earth in an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle, the study notes.

Efforts to reach Invenergy officials were unsuccessful.

The Moxie Freedom facility, the product of a partnership between Caithness Energy LLC and Moxie Energy LLC, began commercial operation in 2018. It uses "state-of-the-art technology that has enabled us to produce significantly less emissions than older coal and natural gas power generators in Pennsylvania," Caithness Energy President Ross Ain wrote in an email.

PennEnvironment's study also explored the 287 large Pennsylvania facilities required in 2021 to report their greenhouse gas emissions to the federal Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. The Pittsburgh and southwest region of the state, home to 88 of those facilities, accounted for 44% of the reported greenhouse gas emissions. That far exceeded any other region.

The northeast — which for the purposes of the study includes Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Montour, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties — contains just 19 of the 287 facilities, the fewest of any region. It accounted for 8.1% of greenhouse gas emissions reported by the 287 facilities in 2021.

The study includes various recommendations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and "prevent the worst impacts of global warming," including hastening the transition to renewable energy and transitioning homes, businesses and the transportation and industrial sectors away from fossil fuels.

"It's important to acknowledge that the technology is absolutely there," Deemer said. "We know that we can power Pennsylvania with solar and wind energy. ... I think the challenge with renewable energy is not the technology side, but the political will to make it happen."

The state must commit to such a transition and establish policies, goals and incentives to achieve it, she said. Pennsylvania should commit to generating at least 30% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 "on the way to powering the commonwealth with 100% renewable energy," the study notes.

"It's really motherhood and apple pie," Crinella said. "I mean we are stewards of the environment for future generations. So many people just worry about how it affects them and how it affects their pocket right now, but we've got to think about the health and wellbeing of our future generations."

To read the study, visit https://environmentamerica.org/pennsylvania/resources/pennsylvanias-dirty-dozen/

Denise Allabaugh, staff writer, contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: jhorvath@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9141; @jhorvathTT on Twitter.