New Mexico State UniversityInstitute for Energy and the Environment
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New Mexico State University Institute for Energy and the Environment
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Home System Description Green University Photo Tour Sponsor |
Green New Mexico |
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Calculate your Emissions |
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| EPA's
Personal Emissions Calculator Estimate your personal greenhouse gas emissions or your family’s greenhouse gas emissions Climate Change Calculator Determine the CO2 generated by your use of fossil fuels & the number of trees it will take to remove that amount of CO2. Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator Translate greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions from units that are typically used to report reductions (e.g., metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) into terms that are easier to conceptualize (e.g., equivalent number of cars not driven for one year). What fuel is used to produce the electricity I use? U.S. electricity is generated in many different ways, with a wide variation in environmental impact. How clean is your electricity???? |
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Tax Credits & Incentives |
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| Learn how
New Mexico can help you invest in Clean Energy DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency) Residental Energy Services Network (Home Energy Ratings) |
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Resources |
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| New
Mexico’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Agencies DOE Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy DOE ENERGY STAR |
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Conversion Information |
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Electricity:
National average emissions factor for electricity is 1.37 pounds CO2 per
kilowatt-hour.
Every kilowatt-hour of electricity saved keeps 1.5 to 2 pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere. Source:
Energy Information Administration. Electric Power Annual 2005, Table
5.1 (October 2006).
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Carbon
coefficient for natural gas:
117 pounds of CO2 per million BTU, or 0.12 pounds per cubic foot of gas. Each therm (gas heat): 1 therm of natural gas leads to emission of 11.7 lbs. of carbon dioxide. Source:
U.S. EPA, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks:
1990-2004, Annex 2, Table A-30.
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Carbon coefficient for distillate fuel (fuel oil): |
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| Note:
The average per person emissions estimates or per
capita emissions
estimates are usually derived from national estimates of GHG emissions,
which include GHG emissions from all sources in the U.S., including
industrial emissions (emissions from manufacturing of goods and
services) Source:
EPA website
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| Converting
Between Carbon Dioxide Equivalents and Carbon Equivalents To convert from CE to CO2e, multiply by 44/12 For example, 6 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (6 MMTCE) = 6 x (44/12) = 22 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. 1 metric ton carbon equivalent = 3.667 metric tons of CO2 equivalent. To convert from CO2e to CE, multiply by 12/44 For example, 11 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent = 11 x (12/44) = 3 million metric tons of carbon equivalent (3 MMTCE). 1 metric ton of CO2 equivalent = 0.2727 metric tons of carbon equivalent. The conversion between CO2e and CE is directly related to the ratio of the atomic mass of a carbon dioxide molecule to the atomic mass of a carbon atom (44:12). Emissions of greenhouse gases are typically expressed in a common metric, so that their impacts can be directly compared, as some gases are more potent (have a higher global warming potential or GWP) than others. The international standard practice is to express greenhouse gases in carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents. Emissions of gases other than CO2 are translated into CO2 equivalents using global warming potentials. For More Information You can access documents on greenhouse gas emissions on the Office of Transportation and Air Quality web site at: www.epa.gov/otaq/greenhousegases.htm |
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Emission
Information
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| Natural gas-fired Power Plants The average emissions rates in the United States from natural gas-fired generation are: 1135 lbs/MWh of carbon dioxide, 0.1 lbs/MWh of sulfur dioxide, and 1.7 lbs/MWh of nitrogen oxides. Note: Compared to the average air emissions from coal-fired generation, natural gas produces half as much carbon dioxide, less than a third as much nitrogen oxides, and one percent as much sulfur oxides at the power plant. |
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| Oil-fire Power Plants The average emissions rates in the United States from oil-fired generation are: 1672 lbs/MWh of carbon dioxide, 12 lbs/MWh of sulfur dioxide, and 4 lbs/MWh of nitrogen oxides. |
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| Coal-fired Power Plants The average emission rates in the United States from coal-fired generation are: 2,249 lbs/MWh of carbon dioxide, 13 lbs/MWh of sulfur dioxide, and 6 lbs/MWh of nitrogen oxides. |
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| Nuclear Power Plants Nuclear power plants do not emit carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, or nitrogen oxides. |
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| Electricity generation is the dominant industrial source of air emissions in the United States today. | |
| Fossil Fuel-fired Power Plants Fossil fuel-fired power plants are responsible for 67 percent of the United State's sulfur dioxide emissions, 23 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions, and 40 percent of man-made carbon dioxide emissions. |