Industrial boilers, though often overlooked, are a significant contributor to air pollution in the U.S. The widely used technology, essential to industrial sectors like food production, pulp and papermaking, and chemical manufacturing, overwhelmingly relies on fossil fuels. This dependence makes boilers responsible for up to 10 percent of all industrial carbon emissions and 6 percent of all industrial NOx pollution, posing a serious threat to both our climate and public health.
Boilers also emit a toxic cocktail of pollutants, including PM2.5, NOx, mercury, lead, formaldehyde, and hydrochloric acid, into neighboring communities. Forty percent of all industrial boilers, and a staggering 66 percent of the highest-emitting ones, are located in federally recognized disadvantaged communities. These are often communities of color, facing the compounded burdens of poverty, high unemployment, and significant pollution.
As domestic manufacturing continues to grow, boiler pollution and its inequities will grow too, if state and federal leaders do not intervene. Fortunately, we currently have the technology needed to electrify industrial heat, and states have the full authority under the federal Clean Air Act to issue more protective air pollution standards immediately.
Summary
This paper offers a first-of-its-kind dataset and map of 14,000 industrial boiler units in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, including data on the criteria and hazardous air pollutants they emit. It outlines the legal authority states have to set emissions limits on industrial boilers, the costs and benefits analysis for them to do so, and case studies of what boiler electrification can look like in practice.
Purpose
This paper is a tailored resource for regulatory agencies, state policymakers, and local advocates who can seize this tremendous opportunity to lead on climate action, tackle a major source of hazardous pollution, protect community health, and advance environmental justice.
The solutions proposed in this paper are cost-effective and immediately deployable. The lifetime pollution reduction benefits from replacing gas-fired boilers with heat pumps outweigh the upfront costs in the vast majority of cases. Decarbonizing industrial boilers offers a savvy, effective win for policymakers while delivering life-changing benefits for frontline communities.
