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As one of the nation's leading energy companies, FirstEnergy is committed to protecting the environment while delivering the safe and reliable electric service our customers expect and deserve.
FirstEnergy companies have spent more than $5 billion on environmental protection efforts since the Clean Air Act became law in 1970, and these investments are making a difference. Since 1990, FirstEnergy has reduced emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by more than 65 percent, sulfur dioxide (SO2) by more than 55 percent and mercury by about 45 percent. Also, our carbon dioxide (CO2) emission rate, in pounds of CO2 per kWh, has dropped by 10 percent through this period.
By retiring older, less efficient coal-based generation units, swapping assets with other utilities and increasing the output of our nuclear facilities, we have avoided an average of nearly nine million tons of CO2 emissions annually since 1990. In fact, our generating output has increased nearly 15 percent in that time, while our overall CO2 emissions remain at 1990 levels. And, with nearly 40 percent of our electricity coming from non-emitting sources, we are well-positioned to compete in a carbon-constrained future.
Through one of the largest environmental retrofit projects in history, we're investing $1.7 billion at our W.H. Sammis Plant in Stratton, Ohio, to further reduce emissions of SO2 and NOx. The project is designed to reduce the plant's SO2 emissions by 95 percent and NOx by at least 64 percent, and is expected to be completed in 2010.
In addition, we've taken a leadership role in testing new environmental technologies - such as carbon capture and sequestration, electric transportation and distributed generation - and we expect continued improvement in the environmental performance of our generating fleet as we complete nearly $2 billion in new emission control projects over the next few years.
While minimizing the environmental impact of our operations, these and other investments also help ensure a strong quality of life for future generations.
Thank you for visiting our environmental website and for taking the time to learn more about what FirstEnergy is doing to protect the environment while continuing to meet our customers' growing energy needs.
(05/30/08) |
