Principal Investigator(s):

Karen Palmer

Summary:

Project Update (346kb.pdf)

Several multipollutant policies aimed at mitigating the effects of air pollution related to electricity generation are currently under consideration at the national and regional levels. This project analyzed the costs and benefits for New York State (NYS) and the nation of selected representative policies that aim to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and mercury (Hg) from the electricity sector. The analysis evaluated the effects of national and regional policies with regard to:

• Air quality, including fine particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O3) concentrations and acidic deposition;
• Human health, considered in terms of the economic benefits of resulting health improvements among NYS and U.S. residents; and
• Electricity generation costs and electricity prices for consumers.

Four different multipollutant policy scenarios that coincide with recent proposals were analyzed. All of these scenarios include EPA's Clean Air Interstate Rule for SO₂ and NO_x in its original proposed form in combination with different approaches to reducing mercury emissions from electricity generators nationwide. One variation considers seasonal controls in addition to national controls on NO_x emissions, a feature that was missing in the proposed rule but included in the final rule. Other variations focus on different approaches to regulation of mercury, an issue that is important not only for mercury emission levels but also because of the interaction of controls for mercury with controls for other pollutants.

Partners: Armistead Russell and M. T. Odman at Georgia Institute of Technology, Jhih-Shyang Shih, Dallas Burtraw, Karen Palmer, and Spencer Banzhaf at Resources for the Future

Downloads:

Project Update (346kb .pdf)

Final Report (660kb .pdf)

Summary Communication (88kb .pdf)

Project Site(s):

Latitude/Longitude:

Region(s): Statewide

County(ies):

Sampling:

Sampled Medium(Media):

Analyte(s):

Sampling Technolog(ies):

Sampling Frequency:

Funding:

Total Costs: $312,345

NYSERDA Costs: $234,261

Funding Source(s): NYSERDA, Resources for the Future

Contract Initiated: April, 2004

Estimated Completion Date: May, 2005

Links:

Project Website:

Related EMEP Projects:

Related Link(s): http://www.rff.org

Contact:

Karen Palmer
Resources for the Future
1616 P Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
PH: (202) 328-5106
Fax: (202) 939-3460
Email: palmer@rff.org