A recent article in the New York Times by Eduardo Porter (here) points out that if one considers only carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) from the combustion of fuels, then worldwide emissions have been flat for 3 years in a row.

The finding comes from a news release issued by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Figure 1 shows the data. Between 1980 and 2014, global CO2 emissions from fuel combustion grew from 17.7 billion metric tons to 32.3 billion metric tons. However, in 2015 they stayed at 32.3 billion metric tons, and in 2016 emissions were 32.1 billion metric tons. (IEA 2017a, 2017b)

Since 2005, CO2 emissions from fuel combustion have declined in the OECD from 12.8 billion metric tons to 11.7 billion metric tons, a decline of 8.6%. In the United States, emissions declined from 6.71 billion metric tons to 5.00 metric tons (a decline of 25%). That’s good work, however it needs to be put in context. Compared to 1990, OECD emissions in 2016 were 6.4% higher, and USA emissions were 4.1% higher. (IEA 2017a)

I don’t have breakouts by country for 2016, but in 2015 the world’s largest emitter of CO2 from fuel combustion was the People’s Republic of China (mainland China), at 7.28 billion metric tons. Even China is reducing its emissions, however, by 1% in both 2015 and 2016. (IEA 2017a)

Emissions from fuel combustion may be the best estimate of worldwide emissions available. They constitute the largest percentage of emissions, and it is virtually impossible to inventory how much methane is being released by every bog or permafrost around the world, or how much nitrogen oxide from farm chemicals, etc.

In August I posted that the American Meteorological Society reported that in 2015 the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere averaged above 400 ppm for the first time ever. It was my opinion that this was terrible news: 400 ppm was something akin to a threshold we needed not to cross in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change. We crossed it decades before anybody thought we would. Further, the concentration of greenhouse gases was continuing to increase, and the rate of increase seemed, if anything, to be growing over time. Figure 2 repeats the chart showing the trend over time.

How can one reconcile that post with the new findings? Imagine you are on the Titanic, and an hour ago the ship struck an iceberg. The ship’s crew happily reports that the amount of water getting into the ship is no longer increasing minute-by-minute. Well, that’s nice to hear, but water is still pouring into the ship, and unless you can stop the water getting in, the ship will still sink. The CO2 situation is similar, but in reverse. The rate at which the world is putting CO2 into the atmosphere may not be going up, but we are still putting billions of tons of it into the atmosphere every year. It is more than enough to cause climate change. We don’t need emissions to flatten, we need them to decrease to a fraction of what they are today.

So, it is good news that worldwide emissions have not grown over the last 3 years. Perhaps it even tends to validate the efforts we’ve been making: maybe moving away from fossil fuels, especially coal, has helped stabilize emissions. But we have a long way to go before we stop this vessel of ours from sinking.

UPDATE: The Global Carbon Project released a report published 11/13/2017 (after this post was written) that projects 2017 carbon emissions from combustion of fuels will increase 2% from 2016. If their estimates prove correct, then the period of flat emissions will be over, and emissions will have resumed their upward climb. (Global Carbon Project, 2017)

Sources:

Earth System Research Laboratory. 2017. Full Mauna Loa CO2 Record. Downloaded 2017-06-15 from https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends.

Global Carbon Project. 2017. Global Carbon Budget: Summary Highlights. Viewed online 11/15/2017 at http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget/17/highlights.htm.

International Energy Agency. 2017a. CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion: Highlights. Downloaded 11/09/2017 from https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/CO2EmissionsfromFuelCombustionHighlights2017.pdf

International Energy Agency. 2017b. IEA Finds CO2 Emissions Flat for Third Straight Year Even as Global Economy Grew in 2016. Downloaded 2017-11-09 from https://www.iea.org/newsroom/news/2017/march/iea-finds-co2-emissions-flat-for-third-straight-year-even-as-global-economy-grew.html.

In the last post I reviewed a report from the World Meteorological Organization; it said that in 2015 the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide reached 400 ppm for the first time. The methane and nitric oxide concentrations were 1,845 ppb and 328 ppb. Combined, I calculated that the 3 gases had a radiative forcing equal to 543 ppm CO2e.

[Note: When first published, this post contained a typographical error: in the title and in the first paragraph, I reported the CO2e as ppb (parts per billion). Parts per million (ppm) is correct, and I have made the change.]

More recent data from the Mauna Loa Observatory indicates that, since 2015, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has climbed to 409.65, meaning that the combined radiative forcing is now even higher. But what do these numbers mean? I will try to explain.

Most scientists studying climate change have emphasized that it is already too late to avoid its effects entirely – they are already happening. My recent posts on the declining snowpack of the western United States are just one example. I’ve also published numerous posts documenting the increase in temperature in Missouri and other states, the USA as a whole, and the world as a whole.

Scientists have also emphasized that the effects of climate change will depend on how much the temperature increases. The more the temperature increases, the more severe the effects will be. Figure 1 illustrates the conceptualization. In the chart, each column represents a system that climate change will affect. The 2 y-axis scales represent temperature change, the scale on the left relative to the period from 1986-2000, the one on the right relative to 1850-1900. The color coding of the columns represents the degree of risk that is projected. White and yellow represent less risk, red and purple represent more. There are no cut-off points in this graph, but you can see that as the temperature increases more than 2°C (relative to 1986-2000), the risk grows from moderate to high or very high.

How much the temperature will actually increase depends on how high radiative forcing goes, which will depend on the atmospheric concentration of GHGs. Carbon dioxide is the principal GHG.

Figure 2 shows the average annual carbon dioxide concentration measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory from 1959 through 2016 in blue. During the last 10 years, the concentration grew an average of 0.57% each year. In red, Figure 1 projects the carbon dioxide concentration through 2100, assuming that it continues to grow at that rate each year. By 2100, the carbon dioxide concentration will have reached 651 ppm.

The future atmospheric concentration of GHGs depends on how much we continue to emit. To study the possibilities, scientists use a series of scenarios that range from sharply reduced emissions, through a middle ground, to very high emissions. They have changed the names they give these scenarios, and now call them RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6, and RCP8.5. RCP6 is associated with a carbon dioxide concentration in 2100 that is similar to the 651 ppm projection I calculated above. Thus, if emissions continue to grow at the same rate, the earth will approximate the RCP6 scenario.

Now, as I noted in the last post, the growth in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide seems to be accelerating. Thus, there is some question regarding whether the earth really is following the RCP6 scenario or something worse. For now, I will stay with RCP6.

Figure 3 shows the mean temperature increase that is projected to occur under each RCP scenario, with RCP6 in orange. By 2100, a temperature increase of about 2°C is projected to occur. (One additional thing to note about this chart: the temperature increase under RCP6 and RCP 8.5 does not stabilize by 2100 – the temperature will continue to increase thereafter.)

Okay, now we’ve got what we need to draw some simple conclusions. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide is increasing at a rate that, if it continues, will approximate the RCP6 scenario. That scenario is associated with a temperature increase of about 2°C compared to 1986-2000, and an even higher temperature thereafter. At that temperature increase, unique and sensitive systems will already be experiencing severe risk. And at that temperature increase, the global aggregate risk will grow from medium to high.

Well, if you come away thinking it is all a bit complex and vague, if not downright mealy-mouthed, I wouldn’t blame you. Climate scientists used to speak more directly, but then they came under attack from those who wanted to destroy them, and those days are gone. If you want to think further about the implications of all this, then think about these questions:

1. What does it mean for the health of the planet, and for the health of our species on this planet, that we are following a course that puts unique and vulnerable systems under high risk? It’s already happening, just look around.
2. What does it mean that we are following a course that will cause moderate-to-high aggregate global risk? What will the impacts be, and how will human life be affected?
3. What does it mean for the health of the planet, and for the health of our species on this planet, that the increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide is not decelerating, but continuing to accelerate? The Kyoto Protocol was signed 20 years ago, and it was 11 years ago that climate change burst into widespread consciousness with Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. What does it mean that we have known for so long that we need to address this problem, yet atmospheric GHG concentration growth continues to accelerate?
4. What does it mean that, in the face of these facts, we elected a President who is hostile to the idea of climate change, and he appointed an EPA Administrator who is, also.
5. Even absent our current President and EPA Administrator, have we shown any sign of being willing or able to undertake and accomplish the large-scale changes that will be necessary to address these problems?

The reality we face is becoming more dire each day, dear readers. We are passing danger signs like they mean nothing. We will have to live with the consequences for a very long time.

Sources:

Collins, M., R. Knutti, J. Arblaster, J.-L. Dufresne, T. Fichefet, P. Friedlingstein, X. Gao, W.J. Gutowski, T. Johns, G. Krinner, M. Shongwe, C. Tebaldi, A.J. Weaver and M. Wehner, 2013: Long-term Climate Change: Projections, Com- mitments and Irreversibility. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

Earth System Research Laboratory. 2017 b. Mauna Loa CO2 Annual Mean Data. Downloaded 2017-06-15 from https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends.

IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

IPCC 2014: Summary for policymakers. In: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Field, C.B., V.R. Barros, D.J. Dokken, K.J. Mach, M.D. Mastrandrea, T.E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O. Estrada, R.C. Genova, B. Girma, E.S. Kissel, A.N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P.R. Mastrandrea, and L.L. White (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 1-32.

World Meteorological Organization. 2016. WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin: The State of Greenhouse Gases in the Atmosphere Based on Global Observations through 2015. Number 12, 24 October 2016. Downloaded 6/15/2017 from http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/arep/gaw/ghg/GHGbulletin.html.

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In 2015 the concentration of carbon dioxide was 400 ppm, for the first time ever. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) was 543 ppm.

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In this post I will catch up with the Greenhouse Gas Bulletin published by the World Meteorological Society in October, 2016. It concerns atmospheric GHGs during 2015.

For the first time ever, the global concentration of carbon dioxide averaged 400 ppm, while the concentration of methane rose to 1,845 ppb, and the concentration of nitrous oxide rose to 328.0 ppb. These represent growth from 2014 of 0.58%, 0.60%, and 0.31%, respectively. The concentration of carbon dioxide is now 144% of what it was in 1750, while methane is 256% and nitrous oxide is 121%. The data are shown in Figure 1.

The report does not calculate the carbon dioxide equivalent of the three combined, but simply multiplying methane and nitrous oxide by their global warming potentials yields a combined carbon dioxide equivalent of 543 (using the 100-year global warming potentials published in the IPCC 4th AR).

Radiative forcing (the warming effect) of these GHGs was approximately 3.0 watts per meter in 2015 above 1750, compared to approximately 1.7 in1979.

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Figure 2 shows the recent data on carbon dioxide concentration as measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory. The red line represents the actual measured value, and the black line represents the trend. This location is often taken as the best place to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations because it is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, far away from large local sources of carbon dioxide, high in the atmosphere, and buffeted by almost constant trade winds. The chart shows that the concentration of carbon dioxide surges each winter, then ebbs each summer. This seasonal effect is due to the summer greening of the Northern Hemisphere, where the bulk of the world’s land mass is. Once it has greened, the vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide and converts it to oxygen as part of the process of photosynthesis, pulling it out of the atmosphere. After the vegetation goes dormant during the winter, it does not absorb carbon dioxide, and the concentration increases.

The reading for May, 2017 was 409.65 ppm.

Figure 3 shows the same data going back to the late 1950s. Though the concentration of carbon dioxide surges and ebbs each year, you can see that the trend is irrevocably upward. The peak each winter is higher than the previous winter’s high, and the low point each summer is higher than the previous summer’s low. At no time has this trend ever reversed, in fact it has never even slowed. If anything, the trend is curving upward, meaning it is increasing faster.

In the next post I will discuss what these findings mean.

Sources:

Forster, P., V. Ramaswamy, P. Artaxo, T. Berntsen, R. Betts, D.W. Fahey, J. Haywood, J. Lean, D.C. Lowe, G. Myhre, J. Nganga, R. Prinn, G. Raga, M. Schulz and R. Van Dorland, 2007: Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing. In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M.Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

Earth System Research Laboratory. 2017a. Full Mauna Loa CO2 Record. Downloaded 2017-06-15 from https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends.

Earth System Research Laboratory. 2017b. Mauna Loa CO2 Annual Mean Data. Downloaded 2017-06-15 from https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends.

Earth System Research Laboratory. 2017c. Recent Monthly Average Mauna Loa CO2. Downloaded 2017-06-15 from https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends.

World Meteorological Organization. 2016. WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin: The State of Greenhouse Gases in the Atmosphere Based on Global Observations through 2015. Number 12, 24 October 2016. Downloaded 6/15/2017 from http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/arep/gaw/ghg/GHGbulletin.html.

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In the previous post, I summarized information about the 10 GHG emitting facilities in Missouri. In this post, I will count them down and profile them.

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When possible, for each facility I will give the date the plant entered service, the amount of GHG emitted, some of the economic benefit derived from the plant’s products, and closing plans that have been announced by the plant’s owner. Typically, closing plans for industrial facilities are not publicly discussed, but they are required by Integrated Resource Plans that public electric utilities must file. They often extend a decade or two into the future and have been formulated partially in response to EPA clean air regulations. Thus, as economic and regulatory environments change, and as technological alternatives become more or less feasible, I would expect closure plans to change with them.

And now, the countdown:

(Click on photos for a larger view.)

10. Meramec Energy Center. GHG emissions 2015: 2,324,558 MTCO2e.

The Meramec Energy Center is located in southeastern St. Louis County, at the confluence of the Meramec and Mississippi Rivers. It is a coal-burning electricity generating station with a nameplate capacity of 831 MW. In 2009, it generated 5,362,000 MWh (data from CARMA, www.carma.com). If the average home in the United States consumes 10.8 MWh per year (Energy Information Administration), then the Meramec Plant produces enough electricity to power 496,481 homes. It is owned by Union Electric Co., a subsidiary of Ameren Missouri.

It began operation in 1953, and according to an article 7/12/2014 in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Ameren announced plans to close the Meramec Energy Center in 2022. If emissions remain at the current level, by then it will have emitted an additional 13,947,348 MTCO2e into the atmosphere.

In 2015, the Meramec Energy Center emitted 2,324,558 million MTCO2e (EPA Facility Level Information on Greenhouse Gases Tool).

9. Mississippi Lime Company. GHG emissions 2015: 2,430,415 MTCO2e

The Mississippi Lime Company is located just west of the city boundary of the City of Ste. Genevieve. It produces a variety of calcium products that are related to cement, but not equivalent, such as quicklime and hydrated lime. The output of this plant is unknown. It is a privately held company with headquarters in St. Louis.

Specific information about the plant is in short supply, but the history of the company on the company’s website indicates that the site was purchased and the kilns constructed during the 1920s. Future plans for the plant are unknown.

Greenhouse gases are emitted in 2 ways during calcium processing. To produce quicklime, for instance,
quarried limestone is crushed, and then heated at about 825°C in a kiln. Fossil fuel, most often coal, is burned to heat the kiln, releasing carbon dioxide. In addition, in the kiln, the limestone undergoes a chemical change that converts it to quicklime. This reaction releases carbon dioxide. The Mississippi Lime plant released 2,430,415 MTCO2e in 2015.

A footnote on the EPA website says that some of the CO2 emitted by the plant is captured and reused, not released into the atmosphere, but the amount is not specified.

8. Holcim Ste. Genevieve Plant. GHG emissions 2015: 2,598,048 MTCO2e.

The Holcim Ste. Genevieve Plant is located on the Mississippi River at the northeastern corner of Ste. Geneieve County. Though across the county line, it is physically adjacent to the Rush Island Energy Center (see below). It is a cement manufacturing plant, and claims to have the largest single kiln line in the world. It is claimed to have the capacity to produce 4 million metric tons of cement per year. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the Interstate Highway System contains 48 million metric tons of cement, so the Ste. Genevieve Plant turns out about 1/12th of that amount each year (USGS 2006). The plant is owned by Holcim US, a subsidiary of Holcim Ltd. of Switzerland.

The plant entered service in 2010, and future plans for the plant are not known. The Ste. Genevieve Plant received the EPA Energy Star Award for energy efficiency in each year from 2010-2015. It has also received Gold Certification from the Wildlife Habitat Council for its wildlife conservation efforts.

Greenhouse gases are emitted in 2 ways during cement production. Cement is produced by quarrying limestone, crushing it, and then heating it at about 1,500°C in a kiln. Fossil fuel, most often coal, is burned to heat the kiln, releasing carbon dioxide. In addition, in the kiln, the limestone undergoes a chemical change that converts it to cement. This reaction releases carbon dioxide.

The Holcim Ste. Genevieve Plant emitted 2,598,048 MTCO2e in 2015.

7. Hawthorn Plant. GHG emissions 2015: 3,145,642 MTCO2e.\

The Hawthorn Plant is located along the banks of the Missouri River in northeastern Kansas City. It is a coal-burning electricity generating station with a nameplate capacity of 565 MW. In 2009, it generated 4,174,900 MWh (data from CARMA, www.carma.com). If the average home in the United States consumes 10.8 MWh per year (Energy Information Administration), then the Hawthorn Plant produces enough electricity to power 386,565 homes. It is owned by Kansas City Power and Light, a subsidiary of Great Plains Energy.

In the photo, to the right of the main structure stand several small boxy structures. Those are natural gas peaking generators. Though they still emit GHGs, they are cleaner than the coal-burning main plant. In addition, they can be started when electricity demand is peaking and turned off when it is slackening, compared to the coal-burning main plant, which cannot.

The Hawthorn Plant was built in stages between 1951 and 1969. The peaking generators entered service between 2000 and 2003. Regarding future plans for the station, in reply to a request for information, the company referred me to their website, where I could find none. (The company does not publish its Integrated Resource Plan, deeming it to be confidential.)

In 2015, the Hawthorn Plant emitted 3,145,642 million MTCO2e (EPA Facility Level Information on Greenhouse Gases Tool).

6. Sioux Energy Center. GHG emissions 2015: 4,314,760 MTCO2e.

The Sioux Energy Center is located in northern St. Charles County, along the banks of the Mississippi River. It is a coal-burning electricity generating station with a nameplate capacity of 970 MW. In 2009, it generated 5,760,500 MWh (data from CARMA, www.carma.com). If the average home in the United States consumes 10.8 MWh per year (Energy Information Administration), then the Sioux Plant produces enough electricity to power 533,379 homes. It is owned by Union Electric Co., a subsidiary of Ameren Missouri.

It began operation in 1967, and Ameren filed a plan indicating it would be closed no later than 2033. If emissions remain at the current level, by then it will have emitted an additional 73.4 million MTCO2e.

In 2015, the Sioux Energy Center emitted 4,314,760 million MTCO2e (EPA Facility Level Information on Greenhouse Gases Tool).

5. New Madrid Power Station. GHG emissions 2015: 5,815,694 MTCO2e.

The New Madrid Power Station is located along the banks of the Mississippi River six miles southwest of New Madrid, Mo. It is a coal-burning electricity generating station with a nameplate capacity of 1,200 MW. In 2009 it generated 7,246,800 MWh of electricity. If the average home in the United States consumes 10.8 MWh per year (Energy Information Administration), then the New Madrid Plant produces enough electricity to power 671,000 homes. It is owned by the Associated Electric Cooperative. AEC provides electricity to 51 local electricity cooperatives throughout Missouri and in parts of Oklahoma, and Iowa.

It’s two units entered service in 1972 and 1977. Regarding future plans for the station: in reply to a request for information, the company stated that it had no plans to close or convert the fuel source for the plant (Viquet 2016).

In 2015, the New Madrid Power Station emitted 5,815,694 million MTCO2e (EPA Facility Level Information on Greenhouse Gases Tool).

4. Rush Island Energy Center. GHG emissions 2015: 6,833,938 MTCO2e.

The Rush Island Energy Center is located at the southeastern corner of Jefferson County along the banks of the Mississippi River, adjacent to the Holcim St. Genevieve plant (see above). It is a coal-burning electricity generating station with a nameplate capacity of 1,180 MW. In 2009, it generated 8,017,200 MWh (data from CARMA, www.carma.com). If the average home in the United States consumes 10.8 MWh per year (Energy Information Administration), then the Sioux Plant produces enough electricity to power 742,333 homes. It is owned by Union Electric Co., a subsidiary of Ameren Missouri.

It began operation in 1976, and Ameren’s 2014 Integrated Resource Plan stated that the company had “developed assumptions for an evaluation of retirements of Labadie and Rush Island Energy Centers.” (Ameren Missouri 2016) I don’t understand this statement to indicate that Ameren is considering closing the facility, only that they have developed a set of assumptions that will be used in an ongoing fashion to monitor its viability.

In 2015, the Rush Island Energy Center emitted 6,833,938 million MTCO2e (EPA Facility Level Information on Greenhouse Gases Tool).

Note: On 1/23/17 the U.S. District Court for Eastern Missouri found the Rush Island Energy Center in violation of the Clean Air Act because Ameren Missouri had performed major modifications to the facility without installing required pollution control equipment. Ameren had tried avoid its obligation by characterizing the work as routine maintenance.

3. Thomas Hill Energy Center. GHG emissions 2015: 7,506,076 MTCO2e

The Thomas Hill Energy Center is located on the banks of the Thomas Hill Reservoir, about 12 miles northwest of Moberly. It is a coal-burning electricity generating station with a nameplate capacity of 1,135 MW. In 2009 it generated 7,379,800 MWh of electricity. If the average home in the United States consumes 10.8 MWh per year (Energy Information Administration), then the Thomas Hill Energy Center produces enough electricity to power 683,315 homes. It is owned by the Associated Electric Cooperative. AEC provides electricity to 51 local electricity cooperatives throughout Missouri and in parts of Okalahoma, and Iowa.

Thomas Hill’s three generating units entered service in 1966, 1969, and 1982. Regarding future plans for the station: in reply to a request for information, the company stated that it had no plans to close or convert the fuel source for the plant (Viquet 2016).

In 2015, the Thomas Hill Energy Center emitted 7,506,076 million MTCO2e (EPA Facility Level Information on Greenhouse Gases Tool).

2. Iatan Generating Station. GHG emissions 2015: 8,911,498 MTCO2e.

The Iatan Generating Station is located in northwestern Platte County, along the banks of the Missouri River, between Kansas City and St. Joseph. It is a coal-burning electricity generating station with a nameplate capacity of 1,576 MW. It is the second largest generating station in Missouri, and the state’s second largest GHG emitter. The second unit at Iatan entered service after 2010, so generating statistics for 2009 are irrelevant. It is owned by Kansas City Power and Light, a subsidiary of Great Plains Energy.

Iatan’s 2 generating units entered service in 1980 and 2010. Regarding future plans for the station, in reply to a request for information, the company referred me to their website, where I could find none. Given that the second unit was completed only 6 years ago, I would expect the company plans to continue to operate the plant for the foreseeable future.

In 2015, the Iatan Generating Station emitted 8,911,498 million MTCO2e (EPA Facility Level Information on Greenhouse Gases Tool).

1. Labadie Energy Center. GHG emissions 2015: 14,754,371 MTCO2e.

The Labadie Energy Center is located in Franklin County along the banks of the Missouri River east of Washington. It is Missouri’s largest coal-burning electricity generating station, with a nameplate capacity of 2,372 MW, about half-again as large as the Iatan Station. In 2009, it generated 17,238,000 MWh (data from CARMA, www.carma.com). If the average home in the United States consumes 10.8 MWh per year (Energy Information Administration), then the Labadie Energy Center produced enough electricity to power 1,596,111 homes. It is owned by Union Electric Co., a subsidiary of Ameren.

It began operation in 1976, and Ameren’s 2014 Integrated Resource Plan stated that the company had “developed assumptions for an evaluation of retirements of Labadie and Rush Island Energy Centers.” (Ameren Missouri 2016) I don’t understand this statement to indicate that Ameren is considering closing the facility, only that they have developed a set of assumptions that will be used in an ongoing fashion to monitor its viability.

In 2015, the Labadie Energy Center emitted 14,754,371 million MTCO2e (EPA Facility Level Information on Greenhouse Gases Tool).

As you have read this post, you probably noticed that some of the photos showed billowing white clouds gushing out of a chimney, some showed a thin plume, and some showed no plume at all. I think the differences make for an interesting discussion, and they will be the focus of the next post.

Sources:

Ameren Missouri. 2016. Integrated Resource Plan. Viewed online 12/10/2016 at https://www.ameren.com/missouri/environment/renewables/ameren-missouri-irp.

Energy Information Administration. Frequently Asked Questions: How much electricity does an American home use? Accessed 10/20/2016 at https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=97&t=3.

EPA. Facility Level Information on Greenhouse Gases Tool. http://ghgdata.epa.gov/ghgp/main.do. Data downloaded 10/20/2016.

EPA. 2015. EPA Fact Sheet: Social Cost of Carbon. Downloaded 12/10/2016 from https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/Downloads/EPAactivities/social-cost-carbon.pdf.

EPA. 2015. Facility Profile Report: Ameren Missouri Labadie Energy Center. Retrieved online 12/10/2016 at https://iaspub.epa.gov/triexplorer/release_fac_profile?TRI=63055LBDPWNO10L&year=2011&trilib=TRIQ1&FLD=&FLD=RELLBY&FLD=TSFDSP&OFFDISPD=&OTHDISPD=&ONDISPD=&OTHOFFD=.

Genova, Marcus, Area Environmental and Public Affairs Manager, Holcim (US) Inc. Email message to John May 1/10/2017.

United States v. Ameren Missouri. Case 4:11-cv-00077-RWS, U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Missouri. Viewed online 1/25/2017 at http://www.moed.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/Ameren%20Memorandum%20and%20Order.pdf.

U.S. Census Bureau. Quick Facts: Missouri. Viewed online 12/10/2016 at http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/29.

U.S. Geological Survey. 2006. Materials in Use in the U.S. Interstate Highways. Viewed online 12/10/2016 at https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3127/2006-3127.pdf.

Viquet, Mark, email message to author, 12/12/2016.

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Missouri’s 10 largest GHG emitting industrial facilities reduced emissions by 5.6 MTCO2e between 2013 and 2015.

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In early 2015, I reported on the 10 largest point source greenhouse gas emitters in Missouri. Nine out of 10 were coal burning electricity generating stations, and together Missouri’s big three public electric utilities (Ameren, Great Plains, and Associated Electrical Cooperative) accounted for 73% of all Missouri large source GHG emissions. The original post is here.

I thought that I would update the information and add a little more depth. What follows is a 3-post series on Missouri’s 10 largest single-source GHG emitters. The first post discusses the data in general, the second counts down the 10 facilities, and the third post discusses what is revealed and what is hidden in photographs of these facilities.

(Click on chart for larger view.)

Figure 1 shows emissions for the 10 largest point source GHG emitters in Missouri in 2015. They are the same facilities as in 2013, except that the Montrose Generating Station has dropped out of the top 10, and the Mississippi Lime Company Ste. Genevieve Plant has joined it. It’s not surprising that the list hasn’t changed much – major industrial plants like these aren’t built every day. Every emitter on the list reduced emissions between 2013 and 2015. As a group, emissions were 5,621,792 MTCO2e less in 2015 than in 2013. (MTCO2e = million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. An explanation of carbon dioxide equivalent can be found at Wikipedia.) As a percentage, the New Madrid Power Station reduced emissions the most (-21%), and the Hawthorn Plant was second (-15%). I don’t know the reason for the decreases.

These plants each represent hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, perhaps even more. They produce economic benefits through the jobs they provide and the products they produce. There is no way I can catalog all those benefits. No single statistic can do them justice, but the following may give some idea of their scale: data on the amount of electricity generated yearly is available for 7 of the 8 generating stations in the list. Summed, it totals to over 4 million megawatt hours (MWh). It is enough to provide electricity to almost twice as many homes as there are in Missouri. (U.S. Census Bureau) Take these power plants away, and that many homes go dark: no lights, no refrigerators, no heat, no air conditioning, no washing machines, no computers, no internet, no TV, and probably no phones. You get the picture: we simply couldn’t do without them.

At the same time, added together, these facilities emitted 58.6 million MTCO2e. GHG emissions cause about $36 of damage per MTCO2e (EPA 2015). Thus, the estimated damage from one year’s carbon emissions from these plants would be $2.11 billion. And they emit roughly that much CO2, causing that much damage, every year.

In addition, these plants release a host of other toxic compounds. For instance, the EPAs Toxic Release Inventory Explorer includes the following compounds among the Labadie Energy Center’s releases: arsenic compounds, barium compounds, chromium compounds, cobalt compounds, copper compounds, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen fluoride, lead compounds, manganese compounds, mercury compounds, nickel compounds, polycyclic aromatic compounds, sulfuric acid, thallium compounds, vanadium compounds, and zinc compounds. (EPA 2011) These compounds are toxic, and they contribute to illness and premature death, which, in addition to being personal tragedies, also carry an economic burden of their own.

The point is this: these facilities create harm, but be careful about villainizing them. The products they produce are essential. We must find ways of living that take the heat out of climate change, but it is hard work, and the onus falls on us as much as it does on these industrial plants. As the saying goes, there’s nobody here but us chickens.

In the next post I will count down and profile each of the top 10 emitting facilities.

Sources:

Ameren Missouri. 2016. Integrated Resource Plan. Viewed online 12/10/2016 at https://www.ameren.com/missouri/environment/renewables/ameren-missouri-irp.

Energy Information Administration. Frequently Asked Questions: How much electricity does an American home use? Accessed 10/20/2016 at https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=97&t=3.

EPA. Facility Level Information on Greenhouse Gases Tool. http://ghgdata.epa.gov/ghgp/main.do. Data downloaded 10/20/2016.

EPA. 2015. EPA Fact Sheet: Social Cost of Carbon. Downloaded 12/10/2016 from https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/Downloads/EPAactivities/social-cost-carbon.pdf.

EPA. 2015. Facility Profile Report: Ameren Missouri Labadie Energy Center. Retrieved online 12/10/2016 at https://iaspub.epa.gov/triexplorer/release_fac_profile?TRI=63055LBDPWNO10L&year=2011&trilib=TRIQ1&FLD=&FLD=RELLBY&FLD=TSFDSP&OFFDISPD=&OTHDISPD=&ONDISPD=&OTHOFFD=.

U.S. Census Bureau. Quick Facts: Missouri. Viewed online 12/10/2016 at http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/29.

U.S. Geological Survey. 2006. Materials in Use in the U.S. Interstate Highways. Viewed online 12/10/2016 at https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3127/2006-3127.pdf.