Greenhouse Gas Emissions Increase; Customer Demand for Electricity is Also Surging

By H. JOSEF HEBERT

The amount of carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, released by the nation’s power plants grew by nearly 3 percent last year, the largest annual increase in nearly a decade, according to a report by the Washington-based Environmental Integrity Project.

Bill Sang, climate issues director for the Edison Electric Institute, said the increase reflected greater demand for power last year and a shortage of hydroelectric power that forced utilities to shift to fossil fuels.

"We think as much as two-thirds of the carbon dioxide increase was due to increased demand for electricity," said Sang, whose organization represents utilities that generate 70 percent of the electricity.

The analysis of government emissions figures covered more than 1,000 plants including those burning coal, natural gas and oil.

The report said that the 2.9 percent increase in CO2 releases outpaced a 2.3 percent year-to-year increase in electricity production.

"Carbon emissions actually increased faster than (electricity) demand," said Eric Schaeffer, the group’s executive director. He said reduced efficiency of older coal-burning power plants that often are some of the largest coal burners may have been one reason for the CO2 increase.

The report said that Texas, Georgia, Arizona, California and Pennsylvania had the biggest one-year increases.

Carbon dioxide is the leading so-called "greenhouse gas" that is linked to global warming. It is a product of burning fossil fuels. Power plants account for nearly 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year, about a third of the U.S. total.

Earlier this year, President Bush cited a 1.3 percent decline in overall CO2 emissions in 2006, compared to a year earlier. Much of that decline was attributed to a mild winter and cool summer, which resulted in less energy demand for heating and cooling.

The Scherer coal-burning power plant, operated by Georgia Power, produced the most CO2 in 2007, about 27 million tons, and showed a year-to-year increase of 2 million tons, the environmentalists said.

"Any increase in emissions that we have is due to increased electricity production," said Georgia Power spokeswoman Carol Boatright. "Georgia is one of the fastest-growing states in the country. Our demand for energy is growing."

American Electric Power’s John E. Amos plant in West Virginia was ranked 15th for carbon dioxide emissions, producing 17.4 million tons.

Melissa McHenry, spokeswoman for Ohio-based AEP, which has 25 coal-burning power plants in nine states, said her company showed a 2.8 percent increase in CO2 emission in 2007, but "we also saw a 3.6 percent increase in electricity demand." She said AEP is investing in wind generation and purchasing carbon "offsets" through a carbon exchange program.

Originally published by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

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