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EPA, EIA: Power Plant Carbon Emissions Saw Drastic Drop in 2012 (UPDATED)

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power plants plunged 10% in 2012 largely due to the coal-to-gas switch and a slight decrease in power production, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Wednesday. Earlier this week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported similar findings.

The EPA’s 2012 data from its GHG Reporting Program, which collects annual GHG information from 8,000 facilities, shows 1,611 reporting power plants around the nation emitted 2,090 million metric tons (MMT) of GHG emissions, including 2,078 MMT of carbon dioxide (CO2), 3.1 MMT of methane, and 8.5 MMT of nitrous oxide. In 2011, 1,593 power plants reported 2,222 MMT of GHG emissions.

The EIA, a federal independent statistics and analysis agency, noted that CO2 emissions in 2012 were at their lowest level since 1994 and that levels have declined in five of the past seven years. The decline last year occurred even though the U.S. economy grew. GDP increased 2.8% but energy consumption dropped 2.4%. Both carbon intensity and energy intensity declines led to the lower emissions, as did a warmer winter. The EIA reported that half of the overall energy usage decline was from the residential sector.

The Oct. 21 report notes that an increase in electricity generated by natural gas and a drop in coal-fired generation contributed to the emissions decline. Even though renewable generation overall dropped (wind generation was up, though hydropower declined by more than twice the increase in wind generation), “the carbon intensity of power generation still fell by 3.5 percent, due largely to the increase in the share of natural gas generation relative to coal generation.”

The savings impact from renewables, and particularly wind, will be more apparent in 2013, Michael Goggin, a senior electric industry analyst with the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) told POWERnewsWind generated 140,089 GWh, or about 3.5% of the total 4,054 TWh generated by all fuels in 2012 and about 3% in 2011. In 2013, as 60 GW of new installations are completed, wind generation is expected to increase to 4.2%

Preliminary EIA data for 2013 shows that some of the previous emissions reductions from switching from coal to gas have subsided as gas prices saw a slight rebound. The first seven months of 2013 show electric sector CO2 emissions were up about by 2% for the first seven months of 2013, compared to the same period in 2012.

 

Gail Reitenbach, editor, and Sonal Patel, associate editor (@POWERmagazine)

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