The link between pollution and coronavirus mortality makes it even clearer why peak power plants must be shut down.
Now, multiple studies have established a clear link between pollution -- fine particulate matter called PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide -- and coronavirus mortality. Various pollutants come from industry, transportation and power plants. It's time for governments to recognize this dangerous health gap and take action to reduce emissions, starting with shutting down the dirtiest power plants.
Peak power plants, often powered by natural gas and oil, are among the worst offenders. These inefficient power plants, turned on to meet high energy demand, spew nitrous oxide, sulfur oxide and particulate matter into surrounding communities. They are predominantly located near population centers with the greatest energy needs, often in communities of color and resource-poor areas. Today, there are more than 1,000 peakmeters in operation nationwide, with the highest concentrations concentrated in and around major metropolitan areas.
Early data from a handful of cities and states that include information on race and ethnicity in COVID-19 infections and mortality confirms that black communities are bearing the brunt of the virus. In Michigan, African Americans make up 14% of the population but account for 31% of COVID-19 cases and 40% of deaths. The Detroit metro area, the epicenter of the virus in the state, also has one of the highest concentrations of aging, inefficient peak-power plants in the country, with a thousand megawatts of peak-power plants that are nearly half a century old.
A similar story can be found in data from Chicago, where more than 70 percent of deaths were among black residents, even though they make up less than 30 percent of the city's population. The Chicago metropolitan area includes 17 peak power plants, totaling more than 8 gigawatts of dirty urban generation.
Along with Chicago and Detroit, the 10 metropolitan areas most burdened by aging peakers have nearly 200 plants -- the main sources of local nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide and PM2.5 emissions. The New York City-Long Island-Newark area topped the list with 46 peak plants, followed by the Los Angeles metro area with an additional 29 peak plants. (Other major offenders include the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., metro area; Boston; Dallas. Tampa. Philadelphia; And Hartford-Middletown-New Haven, Conn.
In New York City, the community is now demanding systemic change. A coalition of environmental justice communities and nonprofits with legal and clean energy expertise have come together to call for an end to all fossil fuel peak power plants in New York City and their replacement with clean, local renewable energy and battery storage.
The PEAK Alliance recently released a report detailing the full economic and environmental costs of the city's peak plant. The report, "Dirty Energy, Big Money," found that about $4.5 billion in taxpayer funds went to support dirty, inefficient peak power plants in New York City over the past decade. These plants are a significant source of urban emissions, accounting for more than 10 per cent of nitrogen oxide emissions on high-ozone days when air pollution is at its worst.
The report also highlights opportunities for clean alternatives such as offshore wind, rooftop solar and battery storage systems to replace the city's existing peak power plants, options that are increasingly being used across the country.
These alternatives can save lives during the pandemic and beyond. A study conducted by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that even small reductions in exposure to particulate matter emissions could substantially reduce the number of COVID-19 related deaths in New York City. The researchers concluded that reducing PM2.5 emission levels by just one unit over the past two decades could have prevented 248 deaths from COVID-19 in Manhattan until early April. The number of avoidable deaths over the course of the virus would be even higher, and many lives would be spared due to reductions in other serious health problems associated with power plant emissions, such as chronic respiratory disease and heart disease.
In addition to being emission-free alternatives to urban peaking power plants, batteries and renewables can be widely distributed throughout the city, strengthening communities by increasing energy resilience, reducing energy burdens, and creating local wealth potential. The work of achieving this just energy transition, where local power generation benefits rather than harms, is already underway in New York City. However, much work still needs to be done in order to make a compelling case for peak replacement to gain broad support from regulators, policy makers and utilities.
In other cities, the damage caused by urban peak plants remains largely hidden from the public. It's time to uncover the economic, environmental and social injustices that today's outdated, inefficient fossil-fuel power plant system creates for peak electricity demand. There is a better solution, and now more than ever a concerted effort is needed to permanently shut down polluting peak power plants.