The Lawrence Energy Center releases carbon dioxide at a faster rate than all but 11 other large power plants in the country, according to a new study.

Westar Energy’s coal-fired plant reported emitting 4.18 million tons of the gas while producing nearly 3.26 million megawatt hours of electricity last year, according to the study from the Environmental Integrity Project.

The rate of emissions – 2,567 pounds of the gas for every megawatt hour of electricity produced – ranked the center No. 12 on the project’s list of the “50 Dirtiest Plants for CO2 By Emission Rate.” The plant had ranked No. 5 a year earlier.

In terms of total CO2 released, the Lawrence center ranked 188th among the country’s 378 largest coal-fired plants, according to the report. The plant rated No. 177 a year earlier.

Bill Eastman, director of environmental services for Topeka-based Westar, downplayed the center’s presence on the emissions-rate list, describing the rate variance between plants as relatively small. Besides, he said, burning a fossil fuel requires releasing carbon dioxide.

“It’s got carbon in it,” Eastman said. “It is what it is. That’s just part of (using) coal.”

While efforts to curb or eliminate C02 emissions are gaining steam – as environmentalists and others press lawmakers to address concerns about global warming – Eastman said that the appropriate technology would require rate increases of 60 percent or more, and that more affordable cleaning measures had yet to be developed.

Lawrence environmentalist Ray Dean said that today’s viable options include using renewable fuels, such as wind and solar.

“You can do something about it,” said Dean, who recently filed a lawsuit saying that the state needs to impose restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal. “You can’t do this forever.”