Britain seeks to curb pollution by small-scale power plants

Britain plans to curb health damaging air pollution with emissions standards for small-scale power plants used to generate back-up electricity at short notice and to stem the rising use of diesel generators. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) suggests plants producing 1-50 megawatts (MW) of electricity should be subject to new rules to cut emissions of harmful pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide. "The combined impact of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Particulate Matter (PM) pollution in the UK is estimated to lead to the equivalent of approximately 50,000 premature deaths per year, at a cost of around 30 pounds billion per year," DEFRA said as it launched the consultation this week.