Prioritizing closing coal-fired power plants near vulnerable communities could significantly improve air quality and public health outcomes, according to a new multi-institutional study. Using advanced computational modeling, the researchers found that existing strategies for retiring coal plants could be updated to deliver greater benefits to communities that have historically been the most impacted by pollution.

The study was published in Environmental Science & Technology.

“The study suggests that prioritizing coal plant closures based on health and equity benefits could shift state and regional strategies towards those that yield health and air quality benefits, especially for vulnerable communities, rather than focusing solely on economic factors,” said Carla Campos, a civil and environmental engineering doctoral student at Penn State and a co-lead author of the study.

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