Southern Company CEO Tells Congress That Proposed Standard Will Impact Economy and Electric Reliability and Affordability

/PRNewswire/ -- Thomas A Fanning, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company, today told members of Congress that proposed regulations aimed at emissions from power plants could reduce reliability, raise electricity prices, slow economic development and eliminate American jobs.

"My message today is that the reliability and affordability that Americans deserve could be at risk," Fanning said in testimony before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power in Washington.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed regulation on further reducing air emissions from coal-fired power plants. The new regulation, known as Utility MACT (maximum achievable control technology), covers 125 different types of emissions. The EPA has allowed 60 days for comment.

"This is nearly a thousand-page rule with nearly a thousand more pages of technical supporting documents," Fanning said. "Sixty days is plainly inadequate for the industry to analyze this rule and its effects and offer meaningful comments."

Of greater concern, said Fanning, is the three years mandated for compliance.

"In just three years, utilities would have to develop compliance strategies for each plant, engineer solutions on a unit-by-unit basis, obtain required environmental permits, gain state public utility commission regulatory approval, actually procure and install the required technology, test the technology and implement any operational changes, and then demonstrate full compliance," Fanning said.

A study conducted for the Edison Electric Institute by ICF, Fanning testified, concluded that for the U.S. by 2015 over 80,000 megawatts of scrubbers and over 160,000 megawatts of fabric filter baghouses would have to be constructed and almost 80,000 megawatts of current coal capacity would have to be replaced.

"As the CEO of a company that has installed more pollution controls than any other utility," Fanning said, "I tell you that this cannot be done in three years."

Fanning also stressed that the Utility MACT proposal could cost the industry as much as $300 billion over the next five years.

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Nationwide Low-Carbon Fuel Standard Would Increase Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Study Finds

/PRNewswire/ -- The implementation of a nationwide low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) in the United States would increase global greenhouse gas emissions by up to 19 million metric tons each year - contradicting the claim of LCFS advocates that the standard would reduce such emissions - according to a study issued today.

The study assumes that because an LCFS would prevent American refineries from importing petroleum obtained from oil sands in neighboring Western Canada, the United States would instead have to import more oil in tankers from the Middle East and elsewhere. At the same time, the Canadian oil would be shipped in tankers across the Pacific to China and other Asian locations.

The study calls this long-distance movement of oil thousands of miles around the world in tankers a "shuffle" that would result in higher carbon dioxide emissions than simply extracting the Canadian petroleum from the oil sands for U.S. consumption, due to emissions created by shipping the oil such great distances.

Barr Engineering Company of Minneapolis conducted the study for members of NPRA, the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association.

"In conducting this technical study, we looked at the most accurate data publicly available, and the conclusion was clear," said Joel Trinkle, senior air quality consultant at Barr and one of the authors of the study. "Crude shuffling under a nationwide LCFS would substantially raise overall greenhouse gas emissions."

The study found that:

-- "A LCFS implemented in the U.S. results in a notable increase in
greenhouse gas emissions due to the displacement of Canadian crude
imports to the U.S. and re-routing of crude imports and exports to
accommodate this displacement. ... Nearby Canadian crude sources
would be diverted to regions not affected by LCFS and replaced with
supplies from distant parts of the world." (Page 2)
-- "While it is likely that LCFS would change the mix of crude imports to
the United States, LCFS implemented in the United States is not
expected to change overall trends in energy use and demand for crude
resources throughout the rest of the world. A shift in U.S.
crude-supply preferences will simply cause redirection of crude
supplies elsewhere." (Page 4-5)
-- "This analysis of the change in crude-transport-related emissions
accompanying implementation of a LCFS indicates that the net effect
will be a doubling of GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions associated with
changes in crude-transport patterns. It indicates an increase in
global GHG emissions by 7.1 to 19.0 million metric tons per year,
depending on the extent of resulting Canadian crude displacement."
(Page 3)


Canada is currently the largest supplier of petroleum imported into the United States, but other nations are looking to the Canadian oil sands as a potential energy source. China alone has already invested more than $6 billion in Canadian oil sands projects as it continues to rapidly increase its presence in overseas energy production.

"By denying the American people access to oil from our friendly neighbor Canada, a low-carbon fuel standard would raise fuel costs and wipe out millions of American jobs," said NPRA President Charles T. Drevna. "Now this latest study shows that a nationwide LCFS won't reduce overall global greenhouse gas emissions - it will actually raise them. These findings simply reinforce NPRA's long-held belief that a federal low-carbon fuel standard is a policy of all pain and no gain."

Additional concerns regarding American access to Canadian oil sands resources have surfaced following a recent U.S. State Department decision regarding a proposed pipeline to transport Canadian crude to refineries in the Gulf Coast region. The decision will allow federal agencies an additional 90 days to comment on TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL project, pending the State Department's release of a final environmental impact statement. The proposed pipeline expansion would more than double the amount of Canadian crude imported to the United States.

Several regional and state LCFS initiatives are currently underway, including a statewide LCFS program in California established as part of the state's AB 32 climate law, and proponents of a federal LCFS continue to seek its enactment.

A federal LCFS provision was included in the 2008 Lieberman-Warner climate change bill that was defeated in the Senate. The 2009 Waxman-Markey climate change bill also contained an LCFS provision, although it was removed before the bill was passed by the House.

Two other recent studies cast additional doubt on the efficacy of low-carbon fuel standards:

-- A June 2010 report by Charles River Associates found that a nationwide
LCFS implemented in 2015 would result by 2025 in: the loss of between
2.3 million and 4.5 million American jobs; an increase of up to 170
percent in the price of gasoline and diesel fuel; and a 2 to 3 percent
decrease in the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (totaling between $410
billion and $750 billion).
-- A report by the Canadian Energy Research Institute issued in October
2009 examined the impacts of developing Canadian oil sands on the U.S.
economy. It found that such development - which would be threatened by
the implementation of a nationwide LCFS in the United States - would
result in an estimated 343,000 new U.S. jobs between 2011 and 2015,
and that U.S. output of goods and services would increase by an
average of $62 billion per year from 2009 through 2025.

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Pelosi Statement on President's Announcement of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Target

/PRNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today on President Obama's announcement of a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for the federal government:

"The effort to build a future founded on sustainability, clean energy, and conservation begins in homes and offices nationwide. The federal government is no exception.

"Our 'Green the Capitol' initiative is a symbol of Congress' commitment to the future. We've reduced our reliance on fossil fuels with wind power and conservation, started printing the Congressional Record on 100 percent recycled paper, replaced traditional light bulbs with energy-efficient alternatives, and increased recycling across all Members' offices. So far, we have already reduced our carbon footprint by 74 percent. These steps save money for our nation's taxpayers, create good-paying jobs, and cut pollution caused by global warming.

"President Obama's announcement marks a critical step forward in our effort to reduce the carbon footprint of the federal government -- the largest consumer of energy in the U.S. economy. This measure will spur investment in clean energy jobs, place innovation at the center of our economic agenda, and decrease the emissions that harm our environment.

"With the President's renewed call to complete work on a clean energy bill this year, we look forward to putting people to work building up the industries of tomorrow, reducing our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, and preserving our natural resources for generations to come."

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Teetering Biodiesel Industry Awaits President Obama's Remarks on Job Creation in His State of the Union Address

/PRNewswire/ -- Tonight, President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver his first State of the Union Address. Though the President is widely expected to highlight a host of new initiatives to create new "green collar" jobs in the speech, the failure of Congress to extend the existing biodiesel tax incentive has placed 23,000 existing jobs that are supported by the domestic biodiesel industry at risk.

Manning Feraci, the National Biodiesel Board's Vice President of Federal Affairs noted, "If Congress and the Administration are serious about creating green jobs, the first immediate step they should take is to extend the biodiesel tax incentive as soon as possible. Expiration of the biodiesel tax incentive on December 31, 2009 has devastated the industry, severely curtailed domestic biodiesel production, and placed 23,000 good-paying jobs in immediate jeopardy. Biodiesel companies have already started shedding employees, and this will continue at an accelerated pace unless Congress and the President act swiftly to reinstate this effective tax incentive."

Biodiesel is a diesel replacement fuel made from agricultural oils, fats and waste greases that meets a specific commercial fuel definition and specification. The fuel significantly reduces harmful emissions including greenhouse gas emissions compared to petroleum diesel fuel. The biodiesel tax incentive is structured in a manner that makes the fuel price competitive with diesel fuel in the marketplace. Thus, absent the tax incentive, biodiesel is significantly more expensive that petroleum diesel fuel. On December 31, 2009, Congress adjourned and allowed the biodiesel tax incentive to expire.

"If Congress and the Administration truly want to protect and promote green job creation, they should act immediately to extend the biodiesel tax incentive," concluded Feraci.

The National Biodiesel Board is the national trade association of the biodiesel industry and is the coordinating body for biodiesel research and development in the U.S. NBB's membership is comprised of state, national, and international feedstock and feedstock processor organizations, biodiesel producers, fuel marketers and distributors, and technology providers.

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10,000 Companies Prepare to Start Low Carbon Diet Plans on Jan. 1

/PRNewswire/ -- President Obama and the EPA are gearing up to put the nation on a low-carbon diet and their strategy would do Weight Watchers proud: Count first, cut later.

The counting begins on Jan. 1, 2010 when some 10,000 companies and other entities, including municipalities and even some universities, must start measuring their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

And while it's uncertain when mandatory cuts will be announced - and whether Congress or the EPA will act first - the law firm of Plunkett Cooney said today that polluters might want to start dieting sooner rather than later because their GHG emissions, down to the plant level, will become part of the public record after March 31, 2011.

"New regulations to reduce carbon emissions are coming but public scrutiny will come first," said Plunkett Cooney Senior Attorney. "Companies need to understand that from the standpoint of government regulation and public opinion, the debate about global warming is over. That means it's time for them to develop sustainability plans and carbon reduction strategies before regulators, environmental advocates, shareholders and other groups force them to act."

According to Mikalonis, entities that annually generate or emit at least 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, which includes gases such as methane, nitrous oxide or several fluorinated gases, must measure and report their emissions to the EPA or face fines of up to $37,500 per day for each violation. The reporting threshold is equivalent to the annual GHG emissions from approximately 4,600 passenger vehicles.

Entities covered under the new rules include fossil fuel-fired power plants, landfills, fuel production facilities, chemical plants, steel and aluminum works, cement factories and large livestock operations. Data collection for motor vehicle and engine manufacturers begins in 2011.

"The reporting rules will drive a lot of transparency and allow company-to-company and plant-to-plant comparisons," Mikalonis pointed out. "They will create public relations issues and potential legal problems for some companies, especially if they have been marketing themselves as 'green' when the emissions report says otherwise. But they also may speed up the adoption of energy-saving technologies, which can flow straight to the bottom line."

In Michigan, carbon dioxide accounts for the vast majority of GHG emissions, which are due in large part to burning fossil fuels for transportation and electricity. Methane is the next largest contributor, mostly from the anaerobic decay of solid waste in landfills. Nitrous oxide, the third largest contributor, comes chiefly from agricultural soil management and mobile source combustion.

In 2002, a study conducted for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality estimated per capita GHG emissions in Michigan were 6.2 million metric tons of carbon equivalents (MMTCE), which is slightly below the national average.

In terms of mandatory GHG cuts, Mikalonis said new rules are a fait accompli now that the EPA has said that rising levels are a danger to present and future populations. Companies must therefore decide how they want to influence the regulatory process.

"The EPA is obligated to enact rules to drive down greenhouse gas emissions if Congress does not act," Mikalonis said. "Congress must decide if it is willing to compromise on issues like carbon cap and trade and energy taxes, or accept the risk that EPA may implement 'command and control' solutions. Businesses may prefer a mix of voluntary and legislative solutions and that approach should inform their overall sustainability strategy."

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EPA Reports Exhaust Harms the Planet. HH2 Hydrogen Water Cell Reduces Greenhouse Gases, Exhaust Emissions Helps Reduce Global Warming.

/PRNewswire/ -- HH2 Hydrogen is the company ready to help the Planet. Patent Pending system creates Hydrogen and Oxygen gas vapors extracted separately from water & input both of the gases directly into Air Cleaner intake. HH2 fits all existing fossil fuel vehicles.

The HH2 system works with gasoline, Diesel and CNG. No on board storage required, no stopping to fill up Hydrogen from a station. Unit licensing will be available to Auto Makers, OEM's and manufacturers' world wide.

The unique HH2(TM) system extracts separated Hydrogen and Oxygen gas vapors from distilled water into small sized devices installed in a vehicle. The unit uses a little of the vehicles excess energy to produce just the right amount of Hydrogen and Oxygen gases required to blend with existing fuel to cause complete combustion of fuel inside the engine combustion chambers.

HH2 HYDROGEN incinerates most fuel toxins, poisons and particulate matter due to catalytic action (Octane 130), resulting in a clean warm moist air exhaust discharge. HH2 is not HHO/Browns gas.

Vehicles that require premium fuels now can use regular fuel when using HH2 Hydrogen systems.

CARB Executive Order D-643 for vehicles using Gasoline and Diesel fuels. CARB is accepted world wide as it is the toughest emissions agency in the world. Big Diesel testing is underway.

The system uses 12 Volt battery power and is very efficient, total burning of fuel results in increased fuel economy, cleaner exhaust and smoother running due to complete burning inside the engine. Please visit the company website at: www.HH2.US for more detailed information. HH2 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Devices have no moving parts and last for years. IRS tax credits of $1000 & $2000 may be available to USA taxpayers, using forms 8911; 3500 and 3800 of section 535 of the IRS code.

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Climate Change Bill Needs State Roles, Says Emory's Buzbee

The Boxer-Kerry bill on climate change now making its way through Congress moves in the right direction, says environmental law expert William Buzbee, but some critical improvements are needed to make the legislation effective.

Buzbee's analysis of the bill, one of a series from the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) by their member scholars, appears on the CPRBlog.

One unintended consequence of the bill's many implementation steps and corrective mechanisms, writes Buzbee, "is an avalanche of obligations." A big question, he says, is whether this "will lead to implementation delays."

A big risk in Boxer-Kerry, says Buzbee, "is that the federal law could prove too lax, but that the federal legislative and regulatory venues would be gridlocked and hence unable to set new, lower emissions caps or take other actions to lower emissions levels."

If that happens, he writes, "states might once again want to reassume the climate change leadership role they exhibited over the past decade and take actions to reduce emissions."

The bill does have provisions to preserve states' ability to require lower emissions than federally mandated, and provisions to prevent polluters from "simply turning and selling emission allowances or credits outside the jurisdiction."

Boxer-Kerry also retains the power of the federal EPA "to take action to supplement a cap-and-trade scheme if that proves necessary," writes Buzbee. "In reality, the mere threat of such supplemental action could nudge polluters into supporting implementation of the cap-and-trade regime."

Yet the bill is less than clear on whether "state supplemental roles are meant to be preserved under all the bill's provisions," writes Buzbee. A second important but missing element "is a citizen suit provision authorizing citizens to sue regulators, polluters, or other players in the cap-and-trade market for violations of the law."

With a law this complicated, writes Buzbee, "a multiplicity of enforcers is needed."

He concludes that "retention of state roles in combating climate change and adding a citizen suit provision" are near necessities "if a cap-and-trade market is to become a well policed reality."

Buzbee is professor of law and director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program at Emory Law School. He is also a director of Emory’s new Center on Federalism and Intersystemic Governance.

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Southern Company to Demonstrate Technology to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Electric Generating Plant

/PRNewswire / -- Southern Company today announced plans to demonstrate carbon capture and sequestration on a coal-fired power generation plant to support the development of technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Along with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI), the Electric Power Research Institute and other partners, Southern Company will build a demonstration facility to capture carbon dioxide emissions from an existing unit of subsidiary Alabama Power's Plant Barry near Mobile, Ala.

Beginning in 2011, between 100,000 and 150,000 tons of CO2 per year - the equivalent of emissions from 25 megawatts of the plant's generating capacity - would be captured for permanent underground storage in a deep saline geologic formation.

The CO2 will be supplied to the DOE's Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (SECARB), which will transport it by pipeline from the plant and store it underground at a site within the area of the Citronelle Oil Field, about 10 miles from the plant, operated by Denbury Resources. The Southern States Energy Board is leading the SECARB effort.

"This project will help increase our knowledge of carbon capture and sequestration, technology we must demonstrate at a commercial level in the effort to reliably generate electricity using coal with reduced greenhouse gas emissions," said David Ratcliffe, Southern Company chairman, president and CEO.

"The main challenge facing deployment of carbon capture and sequestration technology is demonstrating its effectiveness at a large scale," Ratcliffe added. "Our involvement in this and other related projects is part of our commitment to be a leader in finding solutions that make technological, economic and environmental sense."

With carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), CO2 released during the combustion of coal would be separated from the flue gas, compressed, and then permanently sequestered - or stored - deep underground.

The CO2 capture technology to be used in this project, called KM-CDR(TM), was jointly developed by MHI and the Kansai Electric Power Company Inc. It deploys an advanced amine-based solvent that reacts readily with CO2 in flue gas before being separated and compressed so that it is ready for pipeline transport.

The MHI process offers improved performance and lower cost than other existing capture technologies. The process has been demonstrated at smaller scale at a coal-fired generating station in Japan, and is currently being deployed commercially on natural gas-fired systems around the world. This project represents the largest coal-fired demonstration of the technology.

"We are excited to be a partner in this important project that will help further the global goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions for the benefit of everyone," said Shunichi Miyanaga, executive vice president and representative director general manager of MHI's Machinery & Steel Structures Headquarters. "The confidence our partners have shown in the MHI CO2 capture technology is a testament to the research and development efforts we have undertaken during the past 20 years. Together with our partners, we are ready to deploy and demonstrate to the world the safety and viability of commercial-scale CCS."

An important part of any CO2 sequestration project is site selection through geologic characterization and a robust program to monitor the injected CO2. Therefore, a thorough monitoring process will be deployed to map the movement of the sequestered CO2.

Through this project and others, Southern Company and its partners seek to support the goal of better understanding the impacts of reducing CO2 emissions from electricity generation. The project in Alabama is designed to demonstrate start-to-finish CCS technology, an important step toward commercialization.

Plant Barry, located in Bucks, Ala., has a total capacity of 2,525 megawatts and includes seven generating units -- five coal-fired units and two natural gas-fired combined-cycle units.

Southern Company, an industry leader in technology research and development, is working with the federal government and other partners in several major CCS research projects. In one, Southern Company subsidiary Mississippi Power's Plant Daniel is the host site for a demonstration in which 3,000 tons of CO2 recently were injected into a deep saline rock formation 8,500 feet below ground. Monitoring of its movement deep in the ground and under multiple geological seals is now under way.

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Delta Commemorates Earth Day 2009 by Matching Customer Donations to Offset Carbon Emissions

/PRNewswire / -- On Earth Day, Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) is doing its part to give back to the environment. For every dollar a customer donates online at delta.com and nwa.com between April 22 and May 22 to the airline's two environmental partners, The Conservation Fund and The Nature Conservancy, Delta will match up to $25,000.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090422/CL03313)

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090202/DELTALOGO)


Delta is making it easy for customers to donate online to help offset carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with their air travel. Customers who wish to make a donation can select "Plant Trees to Offset Carbon Emissions" under "Trip Activities" when booking a flight at delta.com. At nwa.com, customers can make a financial contribution directly to The Nature Conservancy(R) or make a donation to help offset carbon emissions associated with their flight when they book.

"We have a responsibility to preserve and protect our planet's natural resources," said Tim McGraw, Delta's director of Corporate Safety, Health and Environmental Programs. "Delta remains committed to helping our customers and employees worldwide take action while also serving as a global corporate leader through a variety of ongoing environmental programs, including our carbon offset programs."

All donations made at delta.com go to The Conservation Fund's Go Zero(R) program to plant trees and restore habitat for wildlife across the United States. All donations made at nwa.com are directed to The Nature Conservancy's Voluntary Carbon Offset Program to acquire and protect land in priority conservation areas, plant trees and restore forest on those lands, and monitor and verify the carbon benefits.

Delta was the first U.S. airline to provide a carbon offset program in partnership with The Conservation Fund in 2007. Through that program, nearly 100,000 trees have been planted and 262 acres restored at three national wildlife reserves, including Lower Rio Grande Valley along the Texas Gulf Coast, Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas and Red River National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana. The newly planted forests help absorb carbon dioxide, filter water, restore wildlife habitat and enhance public recreation areas.

Delta's carbon offset program is one of the airline's many efforts to effect positive, global environmental change including:

-- The improvement of fuel efficiency by 35 percent since 2000.
-- The reduction of annual water consumption by more than 150,000,000
gallons per year since 2004 through process improvement and
elimination of unnecessary water usage.
-- The diversion of more than 1.8 million pounds (923 tons) of aluminum,
plastic and paper products from community landfills since June 2007
through the airline's onboard recycling program.

-- The promotion of modernized Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems
worldwide that afford more direct aircraft routing, resulting in the
reduction of carbon emissions.



The Conservation Fund and The Nature Conservancy are part of Delta's Force for Global Good, a program that unites Delta employees and customers in philanthropic and social responsibility efforts.

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New Report Shows Higher Than Expected Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Oil

/PRNewswire / -- Today, a leading national advocate for advanced biofuels released a new study showing that the production and use of a gallon of oil releases more climate change emissions than previously believed. The New Fuels Alliance study, conducted by an independent research firm, found that some gallons of oil release 20 percent more greenhouse gas emissions than assumed by the currently proposed California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to be adopted this month, even before adding price-induced carbon effects.

"This report uncovers two things about oil: (1) that there are significant direct sources of emissions omitted from the current Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which means that the current 'carbon score' for oil under the LCFS is too low; and (2) that we have not even scratched the surface of understanding the secondary, economically-induced carbon impacts of petroleum," said Brooke Coleman of the New Fuels Alliance. The second issue is important because the California Air Resources Board plans to add secondary, economically-induced carbon emissions to the carbon score of biofuel but not oil. "The current draft LCFS proposes that using more biofuel causes economic ripple effects in the marketplace that could have a climate change effect but that using more oil does not have any ripple effects in our economy," said Coleman, "which is of course not the case."

The report shows, for example, that thermally-enhanced oil recovery in California emits roughly 14 percent more climate emissions than average gasoline, while a gallon of petroleum from Venezuelan heavy crude emits 12 percent more greenhouse gases, even before taking into account secondary, economically-induced emissions. Neither fuel would be debited for these increased emissions over the "California average" carbon score for petroleum. "We're basically talking about the oil industry using significantly higher carbon intensity petroleum gallons for free under the LCFS."

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Report: U.S. Power Plant Carbon Dioxide Emissions Eased Slightly in 2008, But Much More Progress Needed to Meet CO2 Reduction Goals

/PRNewswire / -- Due in part to the recent economic slowdown and milder-than-usual weather, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from U.S. power plants dropped 3.1 percent in 2008, tempering a steady increasing trend in the preceding years, according to a new report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP).

EIP officials cautioned that the one-year dip is a departure from the recent trends in power plant carbon dioxide emissions, which have risen 0.9 percent since 2003, and 4.5 percent since 1998, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Despite the slight overall national improvement in CO2 emissions, six states had increases in power plant emissions of 1 million tons or more from 2007 to 2008: Oklahoma (3.1 million); Iowa (1.8 million); Texas (1.7 million); Nebraska (1.3 million); Illinois (1.1 million) and Washington (1.1 million).

Commenting on the new report, EIP Senior Attorney Ilan Levin said: "Unfortunately, one year of improved data does not mean that we are on the right path for carbon dioxide reduction from U.S. power plants. We clearly cannot afford a wave of conventional fossil-fired power plants that would only add tens of millions of tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every year over the lifetimes of these new plants. If the United States is serious about curbing greenhouse gas pollution and meeting the goals that the scientific community says are needed, then many of the nation's dirtiest power plants will either need to be cleaned up or retired. We have no time to lose."

According to the EIP report: "The drop in CO2 emissions in 2008 is primarily attributable to a drop in electric generation -- gross electric output was down approximately 3.3 percent in 2008, as compared to 2007, according to the EPA data. The economy and the weather are two key factors that affect electric generation and CO2 emissions from year to year. Other factors, including the rising demand for electricity and the growth of generation by both existing and new fossil-fired power plants over the past decade, may make it increasingly difficult to make needed long-term reductions and reverse the rising emissions trend. The Department of Energy predicts that carbon dioxide emissions from power generation will increase 15 percent between 2009 and 2030, due to new or expanded coal plants. According to the National Energy Technology Laboratory, an additional 1,392 megawatts of new coal-fired generating capacity was added in 2008, and another 26,131 megawatts have been permitted."

EIP released the report today against a backdrop in which leading scientists agree on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 80 percent over the next fifty years. The Obama Administration has proposed a plan to reduce emissions by 83 percent (from 2005 levels) by 2050, through cap-and-trade legislation. The Administration has proposed an interim short-term goal of a 14 percent reduction in emissions by 2020.

The 10 states that emitted the most CO2 in 2008, measured in total tons, are: Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and West Virginia.

The 10 states with the largest CO2 increases over the past 10 years (from 1998 to 2008) are: Texas (26.9 million tons); Arizona (22.6 million); California (18.8 million); Georgia (17.7 million); Illinois (17.7 million); Oklahoma (16.6 million); Alabama (8.9 million); South Carolina (7.5 million); Colorado (6.7 million); and Iowa (6 million).

According to the EIP report, Oklahoma's massive 2007-2008 increase in CO2 emissions is primarily attributable to ramped up generation at three power plants: Muskogee units 4 & 5 (coal), Sooner units 1 & 2 (coal) and Northeastern units 3314 (coal) & 3302 (natural gas) accounted for the vast majority of the CO2 increase. Combined, the units increased their CO2 emissions 4,286,131 tons from 2007 levels.

Reported C02 emissions were obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "Clean Air Markets" webpage. The database is a publicly accessible repository for emissions and other operational data self-reported by the utility industry, and includes more than 1,000 power plants regulated under the federal Acid Rain Program. Additional information on these programs and the database can be found on EPA's Clean Air Markets web page at http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/.

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GT: Reducing CO2 Emissions Through Smart Growth and Technology

A Georgia Tech City and Regional Planning study on climate change, published February 10, 2009 online by Environmental Science and Technology, shows that “smart growth” combined with the use of hybrid vehicle technology could reduce cities’ carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – the principal driver of global warming – significantly by 2050.

According to Brian Stone, associate professor of City and Regional Planning, the research shows that expected levels of CO2 emissions from cars and trucks in 2050 could be reduced back to 2000 levels if the full vehicle fleet was converted to hybrid electric vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius or the soon-to-be released Chevy Volt. This research also found that a doubling of population density in large U.S. cities by 2050 would have a greater impact on CO2 reductions than full hybridization of the vehicle fleet.

Stone’s study looked at 11 major metropolitan regions of the Midwestern U.S. over a 50-year period and took into account three different scenarios: the use of hybrid vehicles and two different urban growth scenarios through which population density was increased over time, a central component of smart growth planning.

“In this study we looked at two general approaches on how to deal with the challenge of climate change,” said Stone. “One approach is to improve vehicle technology and become more efficient. We can use less gas and reduce tailpipe emissions of CO2. The second approach is to change behavior by changing the way we design cities. We can travel less and take more walking and transit trips.”

Stone says he believes it would be possible for virtually all cars on the roads by 2050 to be hybrid electric vehicles, assuming the costs of these vehicles become more competitive with conventional engine technologies. Today’s hybrid electric vehicles can achieve 40 miles to the gallon and higher.

However, even the full hybridization of the national vehicle fleet by 2050 would not meet the CO2 targets identified though the Kyoto Protocol, an international climate change agreement which the United States has signed but not yet ratified. To meet these global targets, CO2 emissions from all sectors on the U.S. would need to return to 1990 levels or lower. According to Stone’s work, meeting this goal in the transportation sector would require a combination of technological improvements and higher density land use patterns in cities.

“If we can help cities to grow in more compact ways, what we call smart growth, it will help reduce emissions even further by allowing people to travel less often, travel shorter distances when they do travel and take advantage of public transit,” said Stone.

The eleven metropolitan regions that were studied include Madison, Wisconsin, Columbus, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Ohio, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Chicago, Illinois, Detroit, Michigan and Dayton, OH. In addition to Stone, Dr. Tracey Holloway, Scot Spak, and Adam Mednick also authored the study.

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