isramart:Factors Contributing to Changes In CO2 Emissions and Generation

isramart news:
The primary factors that alter CO2 emissions from electricity generation from year to year are the growth in demand for electricity, the type of fuels or energy sources used for generation, and the thermal efficiencies of the power plants. A number of contributing factors influencing the primary factors can also be identified: economic growth, the price of electricity, the amount of imported electricity, weather, fuel prices, and the amount of available generation from hydroelectric, renewable, and nuclear plants. Other contributing factors include demand-side management programs that encourage energy efficiency, strategies to control other air emissions to comply with the requirements for the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, and the installation of new capacity utilizing advanced technologies to increase plant efficiency, such as combined-cycle plants and combined heat and power projects. Annual changes in CO2 emissions are a net result of these complex and variable factors.

As estimated in this report, the amount of anthropogenic CO2 emissions attributable to the generation of electricity in the United States increased 1.4 percent since the previous year. In 1999, fossil-fueled generation increased by about 2.9 percent; however, almost all of the increase was associated with natural gas, the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel. The increase in CO2 emissions from the combustion of natural gas for electricity generation amounted to 46 million metric tons, while the CO2 emissions from the combustion of petroleum and coal decreased 16 million metric tons.

The national average output rate declined from 1.350 pounds of CO2 per kilowatthour in 1998 to 1.341 pounds CO2 per kilowatthour in 1999. The primary driver of this change was the decreased output rate for coal-fired electricity generation, which went from 2.117 pounds of CO2 per kilowatthour to 2.095 pounds of CO2 per kilowatthour. A change in the output rate for coal-fired electricity generation in the absence of significant change in non-emitting generation will have the greatest effect on the national average output rate of CO2 per kilowatthour both because coal-fired generation dominates the industry and is the most carbon-intensive fuel.

Economic Growth

Economic factors influence the demand for electric power. In 1999, a strong economy was measured by the 4.2-percent increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).(11) Electricity consumption grew by 1.7 percent,(12) while the average national price of electricity decreased 2.1 percent, from 6.74 cents in 1998 to 6.60 cents in 1999.(13) Although the growing demand for electricity is primarily met by a corresponding growth in generation, a small amount is met by imported power, primarily from Canada.

Weather

Weather is another factor affecting the year-to-year changes in the demand for electricity. Both 1999 and 1998 were record-breaking years in terms of warm weather in the United States. The availability of hydroelectric power to displace fossil-fueled power was limited by dry conditions in much of the Nation, with the exception of the Pacific Northwest States.

During the summer months, the demand for power for air conditioning is a major factor in setting record high peak demands for some utilities. In 1999, electricity generating plants consumed almost as much coal as the record amount consumed in 1998 and increased their natural gas consumption to meet the continuing high demand for electricity in the summer of 1999.