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The downstream air pollution impacts of the transition from coal to natural gas in the United States

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  • Jennifer A. Burney

    (University of California, San Diego)

Abstract

The recent shift in the United States from coal to natural gas as a primary feedstock for the production of electric power has reduced the intensity of sectoral carbon dioxide emissions, but—due to gaps in monitoring—its downstream pollution-related effects have been less well understood. Here, I analyse old units that have been taken offline and new units that have come online to empirically link technology switches to observed aerosol and ozone changes and subsequent impacts on human health, crop yields and regional climate. Between 2005 and 2016 in the continental United States, decommissioning of a coal-fired unit was associated with reduced nearby pollution concentrations and subsequent reductions in mortality and increases in crop yield. In total during this period, the shutdown of coal-fired units saved an estimated 22,563 (5%–95% confidence intervals (CI), 1,697–43,429) lives and 329 million (169–490 million) bushels of corn in their immediate vicinities; these crop estimates increase when pollution transport-related spillovers are included. Changes in primary and secondary aerosol burdens also altered regional atmospheric reflectivity, raising the average top of atmosphere instantaneous radiative forcing by 0.50 W m−2. Although there are considerable benefits of decommissioning older coal-fired units, the newer natural gas and coal-fired units that have supplanted them are not entirely benign.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer A. Burney, 2020. "The downstream air pollution impacts of the transition from coal to natural gas in the United States," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 3(2), pages 152-160, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natsus:v:3:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1038_s41893-019-0453-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41893-019-0453-5
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhong, Qiumeng & Zhang, Zhihe & Wang, Heming & Zhang, Xu & Wang, Yao & Wang, Peng & Ma, Fengmei & Yue, Qiang & Du, Tao & Chen, Wei-Qiang & Liang, Sai, 2023. "Incorporating scarcity into footprints reveals diverse supply chain hotspots for global fossil fuel management," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    2. Koami Soulemane Hayibo & Pierce Mayville & Ravneet Kaur Kailey & Joshua M. Pearce, 2020. "Water Conservation Potential of Self-Funded Foam-Based Flexible Surface-Mounted Floatovoltaics," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-24, November.
    3. Li, Fengyun & Zhang, Junxia & Li, Xingmei, 2023. "Energy security dilemma and energy transition policy in the context of climate change: A perspective from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    4. Sadat, Seyyed Ali & Hoex, Bram & Pearce, Joshua M., 2022. "A Review of the Effects of Haze on Solar Photovoltaic Performance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    5. Mei, Yingdan & Gao, Li & Zhang, Wendong & Yang, Feng-An, 2021. "Do homeowners benefit when coal-fired power plants switch to natural gas? Evidence from Beijing, China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    6. Rivera, Nathaly M. & Ruiz-Tagle, J. Cristobal & Spiller, Elisheba, 2024. "The health benefits of solar power generation: Evidence from Chile," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    7. Zhang Wen & Xin Ma & Wen Xu & Ruotong Si & Lei Liu & Mingrui Ma & Yuanhong Zhao & Aohan Tang & Yangyang Zhang & Kai Wang & Ying Zhang & Jianlin Shen & Lin Zhang & Yu Zhao & Fusuo Zhang & Keith Gouldin, 2024. "Combined short-term and long-term emission controls improve air quality sustainably in China," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    8. Shawn Olson Hazboun & Hilary Schaffer Boudet, 2020. "Public Preferences in a Shifting Energy Future: Comparing Public Views of Eight Energy Sources in North America’s Pacific Northwest," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-21, April.
    9. Amir Shahin Kamjou & Carol J. Miller & Mahdi Rouholamini & Caisheng Wang, 2021. "Comparison between Historical and Real-Time Techniques for Estimating Marginal Emissions Attributed to Electricity Generation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-15, August.
    10. Hayibo, Koami Soulemane & Pearce, Joshua M., 2021. "A review of the value of solar methodology with a case study of the U.S. VOS," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).

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