Md. Plants Show Big Drop In Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse gas emissions from Maryland’s power plants fell by more than 26 percent from 2010 to 2012, the sixth-largest drop in the nation during that time, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Only Massachusetts, Virginia, Oregon, Washington state and the District of Columbia saw greater declines, according to the data released last month, with greenhouse gas emissions falling by more than 10 percent nationwide.

Experts attribute the unusually large drop in Maryland to the fact that the state’s plants simply generated less electricity, as energy produced by those plants fell by nearly 32 percent over the same period, according to the Energy Information Administration, a government data collection service. The reason for that drop is simple: Maryland’s largely coal-powered plants couldn’t compete with cheaper natural gas plants in neighboring states.
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