Houston, Jan 12 (IANS): The US state of Texas released more greenhouse gases into the air than any other American state in 2010, official data showed Wednesday.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Wednesday published the data from the largest industrial sources across the country for the first time as part of its effort to reduce emissions, reports Xinhua.

Industry-heavy Texas generated 294 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2010, followed by Pennsylvania, with 129 million metric tonnes emitted.

Texas has 673 facilities reporting greenhouse gas emissions to the EPA, more than any other US state. California came in second with 456 facilities reporting greenhouse gas emissions.

The EPA report also found that power plants were the largest stationary sources of direct emissions, with 2,324 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, followed by petroleum refineries.

The EPA collected data from more than 6,700 industrial facilities that release at least 25,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases into the air a year.