Production, Consumption, or Utility Mix: Does It Really Matter? Christoph Koffler – PE INTERNATIONAL Alexander Stoffregen – PE INTERNATIONAL Art Diem – Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Irene Hwang
Does the grid mix matter? Challenge
drives many impacts
hard to quantify
What is the environmental burden of consuming 1 kWh of electricity in the US? All current US LCIs are based on production mixes.
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Does the grid mix matter? eGRID2012 best available data source
• Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database • US EPA Clean Energy Program • Production data for each US power plant • • • •
Fuel type(s) Heat input Heat / electricity output GHG & criteria pollutant emissions
• Reference year 2009
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Does the grid mix matter? 5 virtually independent grids
• Very little exchange with each other • Production data + imports ≈ consumption • Insufficient spatial granularity • Causality decreases with distance from power plant AK
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HI
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Does the grid mix matter? 10 NERC regions
• North American Electric Reliability Corp • Power exchange not accounted for • Spatial granularity remains limited
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Does the grid mix matter? 28 eGRID subregions
• Highest spatial granularity • Subregions designed to minimize power exchange • Recommended by WRI for PCF/CCF
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Relevance of power exchange
12.07.2012 Diem and Quiroz (2012): How to use eGRID for Carbon Footprinting Electricity Purchases in Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories. International Emission Inventory Conference. Tampa, Florida - August 13 - 16, 2012.
Does the grid mix matter?
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Does the grid mix matter? FERC data on power exchange
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission • Form No. 714 - Annual Electric Balancing Authority Area and Planning Area Report
• Annual report on kWh delivered and received from neighboring FERC regions
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Does the grid mix matter? Match eGRID and FERC data (2009)
• 28 eGRID subregions • 22 FERC reports (PCA, ISO) • Data gaps • Data inconsistencies • Data errors
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Does the grid mix matter? 22 consumption mixes for the US
• 15 direct eGRID matches • 3 FERC regions: MISO, PJM, NYISO • 4 partial eGRID subregions: MROW (O), RFCW (O), SRTV (O), SRVC (O)
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Does the grid mix matter? Consumption mix vs. production mix
Delta > 10%: CAMX, FRCC, NYISO, RFCW(O), SRMV, SRTV(O), SRVC(O)
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Does the grid mix matter? Consumption vs. utility mix: Florida Power & Light FRCC (consumption)
100%
AP
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100%
EP
100%
GWP
FPL
100%
PM2.5
100%
SFP
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Does the grid mix matter? Consumption vs. utility mix: Southern California Edison CAMX (consumption)
100%
AP
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100%
EP
100%
GWP
SCE
100%
PM2.5
100%
SFP
13
Does the grid mix matter? Consumption vs. utility mix: New England NEWE (consumption)
100%
AP
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100%
EP
100%
GWP
NSTAR
100%
PM2.5
100%
SFP
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Does the grid mix matter? Conclusions • Choice of appropriate grid mix can make a big difference • Utility and production mixes should be used with caution to avoid the impression of green-washing
• Combination of eGRID with FERC data creates best available inventories of US electricity consumption
• 22 regions improve spatial resolution compared to continental interconnections & NERC
• Data sets will be part of the next GaBi release
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THANK YOU! c.koffler@pe-international.com
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Does the grid mix matter? References Diem and Quiroz (2012): How to use eGRID for Carbon Footprinting Electricity Purchases in Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories. Annual International Emission Inventory Conference. Tampa, Florida. August 13 - 16, 2012. Weber et al (2010): Life Cycle Assessment and Grid Electricity: What Do We Know and What Can We Know? Environ Sci Technol 2010, 44, 1895–1901 Rothschild & Diem (2009): Total, Non-baseload, eGRID Subregion, State? Guidance on the Use of eGRID Output Emission Rates. Annual International Emission Inventory Conference. Baltimore, Maryland. April 14 - 17, 2009.
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