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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Life Cycle Assessment of Coal-fired Power Production

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/12100· OSTI ID:12100

Coal has the largest share of utility power generation in the US, accounting for approximately 56% of all utility-produced electricity (US DOE, 1998). Therefore, understanding the environmental implications of producing electricity from coal is an important component of any plan to reduce total emissions and resource consumption. A life cycle assessment (LCA) on the production of electricity from coal was performed in order to examine the environmental aspects of current and future pulverized coal boiler systems. Three systems were examined: (1) a plant that represents the average emissions and efficiency of currently operating coal-fired power plants in the US (this tells us about the status quo), (2) a new coal-fired power plant that meets the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), and (3) a highly advanced coal-fired power plant utilizing a low emission boiler system (LEBS).

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
US Department of Energy (US)
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-99GO10337
OSTI ID:
12100
Report Number(s):
NREL/TP-570-25119; TRN: US200307%%179
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Supercedes report DE00012100; PBD: 1 Sep 1999; PBD: 1 Sep 1999
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English