Reducing air emissions from utilities
Power utilities making big mercury cuts
Mercury emissions from Minnesota power plants, historically a major source of the toxic metal, are now less than half of what they were a decade ago.
In recent years, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has worked with area utility companies to reduce emissions from their power plants. These projects have typically involved installing additional pollution control equipment at coal-fired power plants, or repowering them with natural gas.
All of these projects have greatly reduced emissions of sulfur dioxides, nitrogen oxides, mercury and particulate matter in Minnesota. Details about each these projects are available below.
- Minnesota Power's Arrowhead Regional Emissions Abatement (AREA) Project
- Minnesota Power's Boswell 3 Emissions Reduction Plan
-
Review of Minnesota Power’s Boswell Unit 4 Environmental Improvement Plan (aq5-34) - Xcel Energy's Metropolitan Emission Reduction Proposal
- Xcel Energy’s Mercury Reduction Plans
For more information
Plan to reduce mercury releases by 2025