Electric Utilities Waste Management Trend
The following graph shows the annual quantities of TRI chemical waste that electric utility facilities managed, primarily through treatment or release. For more details on quantities released, toggle to the “Releases only” graph.
Note: For comparability, trend graphs include only those chemicals that were reportable to TRI for all years presented.
From 2007 to 2019:
- Quantities of production-related waste managed decreased by 804 million pounds (-42%) since 2007, driven by reduced releases.
- Net electricity generation by electric utilities from coal and oil fuels decreased by 52% (as reported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration Exit). The recent production decrease (beginning in 2014) was driven by the industry’s transition to natural gas. Note that only facilities that combust coal or oil to generate electricity are covered under TRI reporting requirements.
In 2019:
- Nearly three-quarters of the sector’s production-related waste generated was treated, while approximately one-quarter was released to the environment.
- This contrasts with 2007, when over half of the waste from this sector was released. This trend is due in part to increased installation of air pollution control devices that destroy TRI-reportable chemicals, reducing the quantities of chemicals that would otherwise be released into the air.
- 52 fewer facilities in the sector reported to TRI in 2019 than had reported in 2018, an 11% drop. Based on data from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration, most of these facilities were either no longer operating in 2019 or were no longer combusting coal or oil to generate electricity.
- Data from the Energy Information Administration indicate that the mix of energy sources for U.S. electricity generation has changed over time, especially in recent years. Natural gas and renewable energy sources account for an increasing share of U.S. electricity generation, while coal-fired electricity generation has declined. Use of oil for electric power generation continues to contribute a small percentage of total U.S. electricity generation.
The following graph shows the annual quantities of TRI chemicals released by electric utilities.
Note: For comparability, trend graphs include only those chemicals that were reportable to TRI for all years presented.
From 2007 to 2019:
- Releases from the electric utilities sector decreased by 731 million pounds (-72%). This decrease was driven by a 567 million pound (-89%) decrease in on-site air releases. On-site land disposal and off-site disposal also decreased, but to a lesser extent.
From 2018 to 2019:
- Releases by electric utilities decreased by 53 million pounds (-16%). This decrease was driven by reductions in on-site land disposal of barium compounds and reduced air releases of sulfuric and hydrochloric acid.
Source Reduction in the Electric Utilities Sector:
In the electric utilities sector, 6 facilities (1% of the electric utility facilities reporting to TRI) initiated source reduction activities in 2019 to reduce their use of TRI chemicals and generation of wastes that contain TRI chemicals. Examples include reducing fuel use by increasing the heat rate capacity, and experiementing with renewable biomass fuels. TRI’s P2 Industry Profile Dashboard can help you learn more about releases, other waste management trends, and pollution prevention opportunities in this sector.
EPA's Smart Sectors Program is partnering with this sector to develop sensible approaches to industrial operations that better protect the environment and public health.
This page was published in January 2021 and uses the 2019 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in October 2020.