New emissions-reduction equipment and power generation brought on line in 2007 extend the environmental life of low-cost, coal-fueled generation and boost local economies COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Electric Power's (NYSE:AEP) aggressive program to install emissions-reduction equipment on its existing plants and build new generation facilities has grown to become the largest in the utility industry and second largest in the nation. The company's construction program was ranked the second largest in the United States and the largest in the utility industry, based on capital invested, in a Nov. 26, 2007 report from Engineering News-Record. Only Alcoa had a larger construction program during the same period. In 2007 alone, AEP completed installation of advanced emissions-control equipment on 3,500 megawatts of coal-fueled generation and started and finished construction of a 340-megawatt gas-fueled power plant. "By the end of 2007, we'd completed more than two-thirds of the massive $5.1 billion program that we began in 2004 to reduce emissions from our existing coal-fueled generating fleet. We also built a 340-megawatt, natural gas-fueled power plant in Arkansas in record time. It's a testament to the diligence of our employees and the skills of the thousands of contractors who've worked with us that we've successfully managed one of the largest construction programs in the country and completed all of the work on time, or ahead of schedule, and on budget," said Michael G. Morris, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer.
