2b. The Role of Technology in Coal-Fired Electrical Generation
In the 1960s and 70s, the demand for electricity in the United States was rapidly increasing. With high oil prices and a low supply of natural gas, coal was an affordable choice for electrical generation. As new coal-fired plants were built, air quality studies identified the plants as producers of large amounts of pollutants. The Clean Air Act of 1970 imposed restrictions on the emissions from coal-fired plants. Since then, new technologies have addressed the challenge of reducing emissions while continuing to produce low-cost electricity with increasing efficiency.
%
Reduced/Eliminated Pollutants
In the last four decades, the amount of electricity produced in the United States has more than doubled. Technology developments have reduced or eliminated 90% of the pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act. Today, research and development helps coal-fired plants meet three goals:
Improve efficiency by producing more electricity from less coal
Lower the cost of producing electricity
Meet or exceed environmental requirements for pollutant emissions