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Power plants top the list of greenhouse gas emitters in St. Louis region, nationwide

A map showing the numbers and locations of Missouri greenhouse gas emitters included in the new EPA data set. You can interact with the map and find more specific data by location and facility via the link in the story below.
(EPA.gov)
A map showing the numbers and locations of Missouri greenhouse gas emitters included in the new EPA data set. You can interact with the map and find more specific data by location and facility via the link in the story below.

Power plants are the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the U.S., followed by petroleum refineries.

That's according todata released today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The data set shows 2010 emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases from more than 6,700 of the largest sources in the U.S., including large industrial facilities and suppliers of certain fossil fuels and industrial gases.

Ameren's coal-fired power plant in Labadie tops the list of greenhouse gas emitters in Missouri, with more than 17 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted in 2010.

The Labadie plant is in the top 10 of all emitters included in the dataset.

The top Illinois emitter is Dynegy's Baldwin Energy Complex, about 35 miles southeast of St. Louis. That power plant emitted close to 12 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2010.

Nationwide, the largest greenhouse gas emitter is the Scherer power plant operated by Georgia Power in Juliette, Ga. In 2010, it released close to 23 million metric tons of greenhouse gases.

The EPA data set does not include emissions from agriculture, land use, or direct emissions from sources that have annual greenhouse gas emissions of less than 25,000 metric tons.

The public can use the EPA's online tool to search search for greenhouse gas emitters by location and facility.

The full data set is also accessible for download, here.