EIA Releases 2003 Annual Report

The annual report of the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program summarizing 2003 data submissions is now available on the Internet at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/vrrpt/. All reporters to the Program and persons who have previously requested an annual report will be mailed a copy of the printed summary. Others may obtain a copy of this summary by contacting the Communications Center at 1-800-803-5182 or by email at infoghg@ eia.doe.gov.
The entire annual report is available only on the Web. It includes appendix tables containing detailed summary data on the reports received for 2003, including project-level emission reductions by Section of the reporting form, reporters by sector, and a comprehensive list of reporters to the Program and the years that they have reported.
Two hundred thirty-three non-confidential reports were submitted for 2003. One hundred seventy-seven of these reports provided information on projects and 126 provided entity-level data. The charts below provide a summary of the project-level reports received for 2003. Direct sources, which are owned or controlled by the reporter, accounted for most of the emission reductions reported—268 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2E).

A total of 81 MMTCO2E of indirect reductions was also reported. Indirect reductions result from actions taken to reduce emissions from sources not owned or controlled by the reporter, such as decreasing the consumption of purchased electricity. Forestry projects accounted for a reported 7 MMTCO2E of carbon sequestration. The reductions and sequestration reported on Form EIA-1605EZ, for which the source is not specified, totaled 16 MMTCO2E.
Electricity supply projects accounted for half of the reductions (50 percent on a carbon dioxide equivalent basis), with methane reduction (30 percent) and energy end use (10 percent) projects accounting for much of the remainder. Other projects, which are mostly coal ash reuse and materials recycling projects, accounted for 5 percent of total reductions.

EIA is in the process of obtaining approval from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a two-year extension, with no changes, for the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program Forms EIA–1605 and EIA–1605EZ. When OMB approval is received, EIA will conduct reporting as usual. EIA expects to receive OMB approval during April 2005, so that forms and reporting software can be distributed at that time. EIA plans to retain the July 5, 2005 deadline for submitting reports containing data on activities through 2004 and for inclusion in the 2004 edition of the Public Use Database. The exact date, however, is contingent on the timing of OMB approval and will be announced by EIA in the next newsletter. Extensions to the announced deadline will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Power PartnersSM Launched

On December 13, 2004, DOE and Power PartnersSM signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) establishing a framework for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of the electric power sector through voluntary means. Power PartnersSM members are the American Public Power Association, Edison Electric Institute, Electric Power Supply Association, Large Public Power Council, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Nuclear Energy Institute, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Power PartnersSM is one of 13 business organizations participating in the DOE’s Climate VISION (Voluntary Innovative Sector Initiatives: Opportunity Now) Program, a Presidential initiative established in February 2003 to help realize the President’s goal of reducing the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 18 percent between 2002 and 2012. In addition to establishing goals for the public-private partnership, the MOU lays the groundwork for developing a process for identifying high-priority areas for the research, development, demonstration and deployment of technologies capable of contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the electric power sector.

DOE Releases Revised 1605(b) Guidelines

Hagel Includes New Registry Initiative

Common Purpose Institute
Sequesters Hurricane Wood Waste

The three major hurricanes that tore through central Florida in the summer of 2004 created vast amounts of debris from fallen limbs and trees. Typically, such debris is disposed of either by open field burning or landfilling, both of which release significant amounts of greenhouse gases either immediately or over time. Common Purpose Institute (CPI), which reported a project involving planting energy crop trees on an abandoned phosphate mine this past year, aims to sequester some of this tree debris carbon by using it as mulch in clay settling areas on the abandoned mine site.

Soils in these clay settling areas are deficient in organic matter and have been invaded by cogongrass, a destructive weed. CPI contacted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and volunteered to accept chipped wood waste debris. FEMA’s subcontractors spread over 30,000 tons of wood waste mulch over clay settling areas with the expectation that the mulch will smother the cogongrass, build soil organics (sequestering carbon), and improve hydrology and drainage. CPI initially plans to plant legumes to increase available nitrogen and to establish ground cover, which will stabilize the area and prevent cogongrass reinfestation. After 9-12 months of mulch decomposition, CPI expects the soil to be sufficiently improved to support tree planting. CPI is working with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to document the net carbon dioxide emissions benefit of this project.

For more information about this project, see http://www.treepower.org/mulch/main.html.

Recycling Workbook Updated