Energy Portal
By Terence West
AUG 6, 2023

Environmental advocates are raising concerns about a coal-fired power plant in Fort Bend County and urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local state representatives to take action against its pollution. Owned by NRG Energy, the W.A. Parish power plant has been identified as the dirtiest coal plant in Texas and one of the top emitters of sulfur dioxide pollution in the United States.

The emissions from the plant have been linked to health complications such as asthma attacks and lung cancer, which is a leading cause of death in Fort Bend County. A study conducted by Rice University estimated that the facility is responsible for approximately 178 premature deaths annually.

Air Alliance Houston, a local environmental advocacy non-profit, recently published a study titled “Close Parish Coal: How the Dirtiest Coal Plant in Texas Harms Public Health and the Environment, and the Alternatives for Fort Bend.” The organization is hosting a town hall event to discuss its findings and encourage community opposition to the plant’s upcoming permit renewal, which is scheduled for October 31.

The climate justice coordinator for Air Alliance Houston, Alondra Torres, emphasized the need for more pollution control measures at the plant. She stated that NRG has not made significant efforts to update the facility’s outdated technology since 1977.

Torres highlighted the EPA’s role in requiring the implementation of stronger pollution control measures during the permit renewal process. She expressed the hope that the community could participate in a public hearing and push for such measures.

Air Alliance has invited Fort Bend County state representatives to attend the town hall event and encourage them to call for a public hearing prior to the plant’s permit renewal.

The town hall meeting is scheduled to take place on Saturday at 2 p.m. at 550 Eldridge Rd. in Sugar Land.