Much US climate pollution is emitted by just 50 facilities

According to a new analysis, 50 industrial facilities were responsible for nearly 7% of the greenhouse gas emissions produced in the US in 2022. Together, these 50 facilities—the majority of which are coal- and natural gas–fired power plants—emitted 472 million metric tons (t) of greenhouse gases that year.

The largest emitter was the James H. Miller Jr. power plant in Quinton, Alabama, which released over 21 million t of greenhouse gases—more than the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Hawaii had emitted individually the year prior.

In addition to power plants, refineries and steel mills were among the nation’s top 50 climate polluters. The sixth-highest emitter was the ExxonMobil refinery and chemical plant in Baytown, Texas, which produced 12.6 million t of greenhouse gases, equivalent to the annual emissions of 3 million passenger cars.

The pollution emitted by the 50 facilities is likely to decrease in the next several years. A number have been investing in equipment for greenhouse gas reduction. And six of the power plants are set to close by 2033.

Recent US Environmental Protection Agency regulations should reduce emissions further. In April, the EPA finalized a rule that requires existing coal-fired power plants and new natural gas–fired power plants to control 90% of their carbon dioxide emissions by 2039.

“By targeting a relatively small number of facilities the nation can achieve major pollution reductions,” Elizabeth Ridlington, senior policy analyst with Frontier Group and one of the authors of this study, says in a press release accompanying the study.