Most of Indiana's greenhouse gas emissions are from coal and steel

The Environmental Protection Agency hopes states like Indiana will use new greenhouse gas inventory tools to reduce their emissions.

Data from the agency shows more than half of Indiana’s emissions came from power plants and a quarter from steel plants.

Duke Energy’s Gibson coal plant emitted the most greenhouse gases — more than 11 million metric tons. That’s equal to the carbon dioxide emissions of about 2.4 million cars in one year. The next three highest emitting facilities were U.S. Steel’s Gary Works plant and both Cleveland-Cliffs locations.

Emissions from power plants in Indiana have gone down 42 percent since 2011, likely due to coal plant closures. Another seven coal plants in Indiana are expected to retire by 2028. But Gibson won’t be fully retired until 2035 — which will likely make it the largest coal plant still operating in Indiana by that time.

A separate EPA tool shows Indiana’s carbon sinks — landscapes that absorb more CO2 than they release, like forests — have gone down about 36 percent since 2011.

Contact reporter Rebecca at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.

Indiana Environmental reporting is supported by the Environmental Resilience Institute, an Indiana University Grand Challenge project developing Indiana-specific projections and informed responses to problems of environmental change.

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