Power Statistics - 2010 Edition - Full Report - Eurelectric

Air pollutants: reducing SO 2 and NO x
The electricity industry is also on track towards a major reduction
of its SO 2 and NOx emissions by 2030. SO 2 emissions have been
reduced by 80 % between 1980 and 2008, falling from 17,000
kt to 3,500 kt in the same period. Trends for NO x emissions are
similar: they have been reduced by 60 % between 1980 and
2008, falling from 3,740 kt to 1,500 kt. Figure 16 clearly shows a
de-coupling of electricity production and SO 2 and NO x emissions
for the period 1980-2008.
Figure 16: Evolution of electricity generation and SO 2 and NO x
emissions in the EU-27 (1990 baseline)
% of 1990 Value
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Electricity Generation & SO2 and NOx emissions
(1990 baseline)
Electricity Generation
Electricity-related NOx Emissions
Electricity-related SO2 Emissions
1980 1990 2000 2007 2008 2010 2020 2030
22 Power Statistics – 2010 Edition
SO 2 and NO x specific emissions have also been significantly
reduced since 1980. SO 2 specific emissions fell from 9.3 g/kWh
in 1980 to 1.1 g/kWh in 2008, whereas NO x specific emissions
decreased from 2 g/kWh in 1980 to 0.5 g/kWh in 2008 (see
Figure 17).
Figure 17: Evolution of SO 2 and NO x specific emissions in the EU-27
g/kWh
g/kWh
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
2.4
2.1
1.8
1.5
1.2
0.9
0.6
0.3
0
SO2 Specific Emissions
1980 1990 2000 2007 2008
NOx Specific Emissions
1980 1990 2000 2007 2008