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The European Bank for
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MethodologyPower plant emissionsFor each power plant project financed by the EBRD, it is assumed that it will run for 20 years at full capacity from the time of financing.Environmental Costs of Electricity, a book by the Pace University Center for Environmental and Legal Studies (Oceana Publications, 1990), summarizes rates of carbon dioxide and other emissions from various power plants. Table 2 in Chapter IV of the book, "New Coal Plant Emissions," summarizes studies by PLC Inc. and the Oak Ridge National Laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy.
CoalAccording to these studies, a new coal fired power plant will release between 1.96 (PLC) and 2.09 (DOE) pounds of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour of operation. For our report, we assume that any given coal-fired power plant will emit 2 pounds of CO2 per kilowatt hour.A power plant with a one megawatt (1,000 kilowatts) name plate capacity will produce the equivalent of 8,760,000 kilowatt hours annually at full operation -- that is, 8,760 hours multiplied by 1,000. At this rate, such a plant would emit an estimated 17,520,000 pounds, which is the equivalent of 8,760 short tons or 7,947 metric tons of CO2.
Natural GasPace's table 3, "Emissions for Natural Gas-Fired Generation," puts the rate of emissions for these type of plants at 1.14 pounds (PLC) and 0.99 pounds (DOE) of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour. For this study, we assume that 1 pound of CO2 will be released per kilowatt hour; that is, a plant with 1 megawatt capacity will release 8.76 million pounds per year -- 4,380 short tons / 3,973 metric tons.
OilPace's table 4, "Emissions for Oil-Fired Generation," puts the rate of emissions for oil-fired plants at 1.65 (DOE) to 1.75 (PLC) pounds of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour. For this study, we assume that 1.7 pounds of O2 will be released per kilowatt hour, or the equivalent of 7,446 short tons / 6,754 metric tons of CO2 per year per megawatt.This table also summarizes the PLC-determined rate of emissions from diesel-fired plants: 2.19 pounds of CO2 per kilowatt hour, the equivalent of 9,592 short tons / 8,702 metric tons of CO2. Multiplying these rates' emissions by the assumed 20 years of operation at full capacity, the following conversion rates are used to determine estimated total emissions of World Bank-financed power plants: of EBRD-financed power plants over 20 years of full capacity operations
Fossil Fuel Extraction and DistributionThe study takes the admittedly simplified approach that all fossil fuels extracted and/or distributed will be burned in power plants. We also assume that all proved reserves in fossil fuel fields that are touched by EBRD programs ultimately will be burned.Other than power plants, potential demand points for fossil fuels include industrial processes, vehicles, household stoves and heaters. Rates of emission are generally comparable across demand or transformation points, although vehicles tend to emit a bit less carbon dioxide than power plants. Counterbalancing this approach, however, are numerous omissions from our report. This study does not take into account numerous other likely releases of greenhouse gases due to the extraction and distribution of fossil fuels, such as natural gas flaring from oil field production, methane releases from coal mining operations, and pipeline leaks. We do not attempt to estimate releases of methane, perfluoromethanes, hydrofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide, or other very potent greenhouse gases. Nor do we catalog EBRD involvement in numerous other industries -- particularly transportation and cement, aluminum and steel factories -- which are major greenhouse gas emitters. Also, fields touched by EBRD financing have considerable "probable" reserves which may be extracted in the future but are not taken into account here. Therefore, overall, this report might greatly underestimate the greenhouse gas emissions that the EBRD's projects since mid-1992 ultimately will help to create. When the EBRD finances a pipeline, we have attempted to identify the source fields for the pipelines, and the total proved reserves of these source fields, which form the basis for our estimates. If we do not know the reserves, but do know the anticipated flow rate through a given pipeline project, we assume that this rate will continue for 20 years. In 1993, the Stockholm Institute - Boston Center produced "Towards a Fossil Free Energy Future: A Technical Analysis for Greenpeace International." In this report, the Stockholm Institute summarizes greenhouse gas emissions from various sources (Table 4.5: Compilation of GHG emission factors used in this study: transformation sources, page 36). It lists emission factors of 2.71 kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilogram of coal input, 1.85 kg per cubic meter of natural gas, and between 3.06 and 3.14 kilograms per kilogram of oil. We split the difference and assume 3.1 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions per kilogram of oil input. Thus, we use emission rates of 3.1 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of oil, 2.71 tons per ton of coal, and 1.85 kilograms per cubic meter of gas. For oil, a conversion rate of 7.3 barrels per metric ton is used. For natural gas, the conversion rate is 35.314 cubic feet per cubic meter. One metric ton of gas equals about 138 cubic feet or 3.908 cubic meters. We have tried to prevent double-counting of emissions that may occur when a EBRD-financed power plant burns fossil fuels that have been extracted or distributed with EBRD involvement. Similar double-counting prevention procedures are used in pipeline and refinery projects.
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