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Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects (2007)

Chapter: Appendix B Emission Rates for Electrical Generation

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Emission Rates for Electrical Generation." National Research Council. 2007. Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11935.
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APPENDIX B
Emission Rates for Electrical Generation

TABLE B-1 Annual Emission Rates for Electrical Generating Units (lb/MWh)

Data Set

Geographic Area

Period

Generation Type

CO2

NOx

SO2

eGrid 2000a

 

 

 

 

 

 

USA

50 U.S. states

2000

System average

1,392

3.0

6.0

MAH States

MD, PA, VA, WV, DC

2000

System average

1,426

3.5

9.7

USA

50 U.S. states

2000

Coal

2,188

4.8

10.9

MAH States

MD, PA, VA, WV, DC

2000

Coal

2,053

5.0

14.1

USA

50 U.S. states

2000

Natural gas

1,187

1.7

0.3

MAH States

MD, PA, VA, WV, DC

2000

Natural gas

878

1.0

0.3

BLM EISb

Western U.S.

Pre-1991

Coal

2,860

15.4

15.4

BLM EISb

Western U.S.

Pre-2001

Natural gas

1,200

0.0

1.3

PJM 2005c

PJM grid system

2005

System average

1,292

2.6

8.5

RSG-ERT SIPd

MD, PA, WV, VA

Pre-2003

Coal

2,113

5.7

17.7

RSG-ERT VAe

VA, WV

2004

Primarily coal

2,037

3.9

5.3

ISO-NEf

 

 

 

 

 

 

2000

New England

2000

Marginal units

1,488

1.9

6.2

2004

New England

2004

Marginal units

1,102

0.5

2.0

2000

New England

2000

System average

913

1.1

3.9

2005

New England

2004

System average

876

0.8

2.3

OTCg

 

 

 

 

 

 

NY

NY

2002

System average

810

1.2

2.7

NE

New England

2002

System average

1,000

1.1

3.3

PJM

PJM grid system

2002

System average

1,180

2.3

8.0

NESCAUMh

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greenpoint

NY

1999

System average

944

1.5

4.4

Exelon

PJM grid system

1998

System average

1,199

2.8

9.0

aeGRID 2006.

bBLM 2005a.

cPJM 2006b.

dHathaway et al. 2005.

eHigh and Hathaway 2006.

fISO New England Inc. 2006.

gKeith et al. 2002.

hNESCAUM 2002.

NOTE: The committee has not assessed the uncertainty associated with the numbers presented.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Emission Rates for Electrical Generation." National Research Council. 2007. Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11935.
×

TABLE B-2 Wind Resource Database: Standard Version, May 2005a

State

Data Sourceb

State

Data Sourceb

Arizona

N/TWS 2003

Nebraska

N/TWS 2005

Alabama

PNL 1987

New Hampshire

N/TWS 2002

Arkansas

PNL 1987

New Jersey

N/TWS 2003

California

N/TWS 2003

New Mexico

N/TWS 2003

Colorado

N/TWS 2003

New York

PNL 1987

Connecticut

N/TWS 2002

North Carolina

N/TWS 2003

Delaware

N/TWS 2003

North Dakota

NREL 2000

Florida

PNL 1987

Ohio

N/TWS 2004

Georgia

PNL 1987

Oklahoma

PNL 1987

Idaho

N/TWS 2002

Oregon

N/TWS 2002

Illinois

NREL 2001

Pennsylvania

N/TWS 2003

Indiana

N/TWS 2004

Rhode Island

N/TWS 2002

Iowa

PNL 1987

South Carolina

PNL 1987

Kansas

PNL 1987

South Dakota

NREL 2000

Kentucky

PNL 1987

Tennessee

PNL 1987

Louisiana

PNL 1987

Texas

PNL 1987

Maine

N/TWS 2002

 

NREL 2000

Maryland

N/TWS 2003

Vermont

N/TWS 2002

Massachusetts

N/TWS 2002

Virginia

N/TWS 2003

Michigan

N/TWS 2005

Washington

N/TWS 2002

Minnesota

PNL 1987

West Virginia

N/TWS 2003

Mississippi

PNL 1987

Wisconsin

PNL 1987

Missouri

N/TWS 2004

Wyoming

N/TWS 2002

Montana

N/TWS 2002

 

 

aData source and exclusion criteria for U.S. wind potential map coverage provided on March 16, 2006, by National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.

bYrSource: Yr = Year validated (1987 to present); Source = PNL, NREL, or N/TWS (NREL with AWS TrueWind).

NOTE: PNL data resolution is 1/4 degree of latitude by 1/3 degree of longitude; each cell has a terrain exposure percent (5% for ridgecrest to 90% for plains) to define base resource area in each cell. Ridgecrest areas have 10% of the area assigned to the next higher power class. NREL data were generated with the WRAMS model and do not account for surface roughness. Resolution is 1 km. Texas includes the Texas mesas study area updated by NREL using WRAMS. N/TWS data was generated by AWS TrueWind and validated by NREL. Resolution is 400 m for the northwest states (WA, OR, ID, MT, and WY) and 200 m everywhere else. These data consider surface roughness in their estimates.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Emission Rates for Electrical Generation." National Research Council. 2007. Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11935.
×

TABLE B-3 Wind Resource Exclusion Database:a Criteria for Defining Available Windy Landb

Criteria

Data/Comments

Environmental

 

(2) 100% exclusion of National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service managed lands.

USGS Federal and Indian Lands shapefile, Jan. 2005.

(3) 100% exclusion of federal lands designated as park, wilderness, wilderness study area, national monument, national battlefield, recreation area, national conservation area, wildlife refuge, wildlife area, wild and scenic river, or inventoried roadless area.

USGS Federal and Indian Lands shapefile, Jan. 2005.

(4) 100% exclusion of state and private lands equivalent to criteria 2 and 3, where GIS data are available.

State/GAP land stewardship data management status 1, from Conservation Biology Institute Protected Lands database, 2004.

(8) 50% exclusion of remaining USDA Forest Service (FS) lands (incl. National Grasslands).

USGS Federal and Indian Lands shapefile, Jan. 2005.

(9) 50% exclusion of remaining Dept. of Defense lands.

USGS Federal and Indian Lands shapefile, Jan. 2005.

(10) 50% exclusion of state forest land, where GIS data is available.

State/GAP land stewardship data management status 2, from Conservation Biology Institute Protected Lands database, 2004.

Land Use

 

(5) 100% exclusion of airfields, urban, wetland, and water areas.

USGS North America Land Use Land Cover (LULC), version 2.0, 1993; ESRI airports and airfields (2003).

(11) 50% exclusion of non-ridgecrest forest.c

Ridgecrest areas defined using a terrain definition script, overlaid with USGS LULC data screened for the forest categories.

Other

 

(1) Exclude areas of slope >20%. D

Derived from elevation data used in the wind resource model.

(6) 100% exclude 3 km surrounding criteria 2-5 (except water).

Merged datasets and buffer 3 km.

(7) Exclude resource areas that do not meet a density of 5 km2 of class 3 or better resource within the surrounding 100 km2 area.

Focalsum function of class 3+ areas (not applied to 1987 PNL resource data).

aStandard Version, last revised Jan. 2004.

bNumbered in the order they are applied.

c50% exclusions are not cumulative. If an area is non-ridgecrest forest on FS land, it is just excluded at the 50% level one time.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Emission Rates for Electrical Generation." National Research Council. 2007. Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11935.
×
Page 276
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Emission Rates for Electrical Generation." National Research Council. 2007. Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11935.
×
Page 277
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Emission Rates for Electrical Generation." National Research Council. 2007. Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11935.
×
Page 278
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The generation of electricity by wind energy has the potential to reduce environmental impacts caused by the use of fossil fuels. Although the use of wind energy to generate electricity is increasing rapidly in the United States, government guidance to help communities and developers evaluate and plan proposed wind-energy projects is lacking. Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects offers an analysis of the environmental benefits and drawbacks of wind energy, along with an evaluation guide to aid decision-making about projects. It includes a case study of the mid-Atlantic highlands, a mountainous area that spans parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. This book will inform policy makers at the federal, state, and local levels.

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