Power Plants and Neighboring Communities Map

The Power Plants and Neighboring Communities mapping tool combines power plant data with demographic data from EJSCREEN. The power plant data is from two different data sets available from EPA's Clean Air Markets Division (CAMD):

1. Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID)

The data includes environmental characteristics, emissions, emission rates, generation, heat input (e.g. energy from combustion), and many other attributes for all grid-connected electric generating units (EGUs) at facilities that have a nameplate generating capacity of at least 1MW.

2. Power Sector Emissions Data

The data includes annual emissions and heat input. The data is collected by CAMD under the regulations in 40 CFR Part 75. Other available data includes hourly emissions and operating parameters plus facility information and testing results.

Maps and Layers

The mapping tool presents the Power Plants and Neighboring Communities map. The map contains the following layers which can be toggled on/off:

1. Emissions: CO2 - The size of the markers correlates to the 2019 annual CO₂ emissions (tons). 
2. Emissions: NOx - The size of the markers correlates to the 2019 annual NO_X emissions (tons). 
3. Emissions: SO2 - The size of the markers correlates to the 2019 annual SO₂ emissions (tons). 
4. Emissions: PM 2.5 - The size of the markers correlates to the 2019 annual PM_2.5 emissions (tons). 
5. Combustion Power Plants - This default layer includes data on approximately 3,400 fossil fuel-fired power plants. It's color-coded according to the demographic index national percentile.
6. Demographics (Census Block Group) - This group  of layers displays data from EPA’s EJSCREEN that uses demographic factors as general indicators of a community's potential susceptibility to certain types of environmental factors. The following layers include information for each U.S. Census block group: 
   1. Census Block Group Boundaries
   2. Census Block Group Population
   3. Demographics: Demographic Index - The average of two demographic indicators; Percent Low-Income and Percent Minority.
   4. Demographics: People of Color Population - The percent of individuals who list their racial status as a race other than white alone and/or list their ethnicity as Hispanic or Latino. That is, all people other than non-Hispanic white-alone individuals. The word "alone" in this case indicates that the person is of a single race, not multiracial.
   5. Demographics: Low Income - The percent of households where the household income is less than or equal to twice the federal "poverty level."
   6. Demographics: Linguistically Isolated - Percent of people in a block group living in linguistically isolated households. A household in which all members age 14 years and over speak a non-English language and also speak English less than "very well" (have difficulty with English) is linguistically isolated.
   7. Demographics: Less Than High School Education - Percent of people age 25 or older whose education is less than a high school diploma.
   8. Demographics: Under Age 5 - Percent of people under the age of 5. 
   9. Demographics: Over Age 64 - Percent of people over the age of 64.
   10. ACS Poverty by Age (Tract Level) - This layer contains the most current release of data from the American Community Survey (ACS) about poverty status by age group. These are 5-year estimates shown by tract.
7. 3-mile Buffer- This layer depicts the areas within three miles of each Power Plant. Populations that are within the 3-mile radius are included in the summary demographics. 
8. EJ Indexes (Census Block Group)- This layer presents U.S. Census block groups where any of the 11 EJSCREEN EJ indices are at or above the 80th percentile nationally. The darker purple indicates a higher number of EJ indices are at or above the 80th percentile nationally.
9. Tribal - This group of layers presents data on Tribal areas.
   1. Plants within 50 miles
   2. Tribal Areas: Lower 48 States
   3. Tribal Areas: Alaska Native Allotments
   4. Tribal Areas: Alaska Reservations
   5. Tribal Areas: Alaska Native Villages

More information can be found on the Frequent Questions about Power Plants and Neighboring Communities page.

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