[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 56 (Thursday, March 24, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15164-15169]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5606]
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Part II
Department of Energy
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10 CFR Part 300
Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reporting; Interim Final Rules
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 56 / Thursday, March 24, 2005 / Rules
and Regulations
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
10 CFR Part 300
Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reporting
AGENCY: Office of Policy and International Affairs, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice of availability and opportunity to comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) today gives notice that draft
Technical Guidelines for the revised Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse
Gases Program are available for review and comment. DOE will hold a
public workshop to receive stakeholder views on the draft Technical
Guidelines, as well as the interim final General Guidelines that DOE is
publishing in the Rules and Regulations section of today's issue of the
Federal Register. In addition, DOE and the United States Department of
Agriculture will jointly hold a public workshop to receive stakeholder
views on the draft Technical Guidelines for Agriculture and Forestry
and related interim final General Guidelines.
DATES: Written comments must be received by May 23, 2005. The DOE
public workshop will be held on April 26 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on
April 27, from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. The public workshop on agricultural
and forestry issues, jointly sponsored by DOE and the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, will be held on May 5, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Send e-mail comments to:
[email protected]. Alternatively, written comments
may be sent to: Mark Friedrichs, PI-40; Office of Policy and
International Affairs; U.S. Department of Energy; 1000 Independence
Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20585. The DOE public workshop will be held
at the following location: Crystal City Marriott Hotel at Reagan
National Airport, 1999 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia
22202.
Persons interested in registering for, or in obtaining more
information about, this workshop should visit the following Web site:
http://www.pi.energy.gov/enhancingGHGregistry/workshops.
The joint DOE/USDA workshop for Agriculture and Forestry will be
held on May 5 at the following location: USDA-APHIS Conference Center,
4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD.
Persons interested in registering for this workshop or in obtaining
more information about USDA's efforts to develop accounting rules and
guidelines for forestry and agriculture should visit the following Web
site: http://www.usda.gov/agency/oce/gcpo/greenhousegasreporting.htm.
You may obtain electronic copies of this notice, the draft
Technical Guidelines and other related documents, find additional
information about the planned workshops, and review comments received
by DOE and the workshop transcripts at the following Web site: http://www.pi.energy.gov/enhancingGHGregistry/. Those without internet access
may access this information by visiting the DOE Freedom of Information
Reading Room, Rm. 1E-190, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington,
DC, 202-586-3142, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday to
Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Friedrichs, PI-40, Office of
Policy and International Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy; 1000
Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20585, or e-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
Section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 directed DOE, with
the Energy Information Administration (EIA), to establish a voluntary
reporting program and database on emissions of greenhouse gases,
reductions of these gases, and carbon sequestration activities (42
U.S.C. 13385(b)). A specific purpose of the program is to enable the
entities to report reductions of greenhouse gases. Section 1605(b)
directs DOE to issue guidelines, after opportunity for public comment,
that establish procedures for the voluntary reporting of specific
greenhouse gas emissions information. In 1994, DOE issued General
Guidelines and sector-specific guidelines, and EIA issued reporting
forms, for the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program.
On February 14, 2002, the President, as part of a larger initiative
to address the issue of global climate change, directed the Secretary
of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the
Secretary of Agriculture, and the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, to propose improvements to the Voluntary Reporting
of Greenhouse Gases Program. These improvements are to enhance
measurement accuracy, reliability, and verifiability, working with and
taking into account emerging domestic and international approaches.
On December 5, 2003, DOE proposed revised General Guidelines for
the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program and,
simultaneously, announced that it intended to develop for public
comment Technical Guidelines that would specify the methods and factors
to be used in measuring and estimating greenhouse gas emissions,
emission reductions, and carbon sequestration (68 FR 68204-05).
DOE is today making draft Technical Guidelines available for review
and public comment. The draft Technical Guidelines complement and are
inter-related with the interim final revised General Guidelines that
DOE is publishing in the Rules and Regulations section of today's issue
of the Federal Register. When issued as final, the revised General
Guidelines and the Technical Guidelines, together with new reporting
forms being developed by EIA, will fully implement the revised
Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program.
The draft Technical Guidelines have three parts:
Emissions Inventory Guidelines (Chapter 1), which includes
detailed guidance on how to measure or estimate greenhouse gas
emissions;
Emission Reductions Guidelines (Chapter 2), which includes
guidance on the selection and application of emission reduction
calculation methods, including the establishment and modifications of
base periods and base values; and
Glossary, which defines terms used only in the Technical
Guidelines and references the definitions in section 300.2 of the
General Guidelines.
Components of the guidelines relevant for agriculture and forestry
reporting have been shared with a selected set of evaluators with
experience in greenhouse gas mitigation technologies in agriculture and
forestry. The evaluators' views on the technical components and
operability of the draft Technical Guidelines as they relate to the
agriculture and forestry sectors will be made available during the
public review process.
II. Summary of Draft Technical Guidelines and Issues for Comment
The following discussion summarizes the content of the draft
Technical Guidelines and identifies key issues upon which DOE would
like to focus public review and comment.
1. Emission Inventory Guidelines (Chapter 1)
The Inventory Chapter identifies and rates methods for estimating
emissions and sequestration from a wide range of sources. These
guidelines build on (and reference) several publicly available
documents related to the development
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of emissions inventories. The Inventory Chapter consists of nine
sections covering the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions:
Overview; Collecting Information; Stationary Combustion;
Transportation; Industrial Processes; Indirect Emissions; Engineered
Sequestration; Agricultural Emissions and Sequestration; Forestry
Emissions and Sequestration. The Agriculture and Forestry sections
include technical appendices that can be found at the following Web
site: http://www.usda.gov/oce/gcpo/greenhousegasreporting.
a. Emissions Rating System. As described in the preamble to the
interim final General Guidelines (see section II. C. vi.), the
emissions rating system ordinally rates estimation methods and is based
on four criteria: Accuracy, reliability, verifiability and practical
application. The best available method is rated ``A,'' and given a
value of four points. The next best method is rated ``B'' and given a
value of three points; the next best is rated ``C'' and given a value
of two points; and the least accurate method is rated ``D'' and given a
value of 1 point. If a reporter is seeking to register reductions, the
weighted average rating for emissions for the years used to calculate
such reductions must be 3.0 or greater. Comments are invited regarding
the ordinal rating system in general (including comparisons with other
systems, such as a cardinal rating system); the appropriateness of the
estimation methods specifically identified and their assigned ratings;
and other methods not covered in the draft Technical Guidelines.
b. Alternative Inventory Methods. The revised General Guidelines
require reporters to use methods described in the Draft Technical
Guidelines, unless an alternative method has been specifically approved
by the Department (see Sec. 300.6(c) of the revised General
Guidelines). If a reporter wishes to propose the use of a method that
is not described in the Draft Technical Guidelines, the reporter must
submit to DOE a description of the method, an explanation of how the
method is implemented (including information requirements), and
empirical evidence of the method's validity and accuracy.
c. Inventories of Indirect Energy. DOE believes that the indirect
emissions reflected in entity inventories should reflect, where
practicable, the average emissions rate of the power being purchased.
Since the average emissions rates of electricity generation vary widely
by region, Chapter 1 of the draft Technical Guidelines specifies that
entities reporting inventories of indirect emissions associated with
the purchase of electricity within the U.S. must use regional values
specified by EIA that correspond to the average emission rates of power
generated within each of the twelve North American Electricity Reliable
Council regions. Comparable methods for determining the emission rates
of non-U.S. power generation must be used to estimate the indirect
emissions from non-U.S. operations. If the entity's purchase contract
specifies that the electricity supplied is from particular power
generation sources, then it may use an emission coefficient that
corresponds to these specific sources. However, entities should note
that the emission reduction guidelines contained in Chapter 2 specify
the use of a single emission coefficient for purchased electricity,
based on the national average emissions rate for the electric sector as
a whole. DOE believes that the national average emissions rate is a
better indicator of the emission reductions resulting from reduced
demand for electricity than are the regional values used in the
development of emission inventories. This means that the indirect
emissions associated with purchased electricity will differ depending
on whether they are part of the entity's emissions inventory or
emission reduction assessment. DOE specifically solicits comments on
the effects of specifying the use of different emission coefficients
for emission inventories and emission reductions.
One form of electricity demand, the losses associated with
electricity transmission and distribution, is not explicitly addressed
in the draft Technical Guidelines for emission inventories, although
the emission reduction guidelines identify an action-specific method
for calculating the emission reductions that result from reducing such
losses. DOE solicits recommendations on appropriate methods for
measuring or estimating such losses that would permit the associated
emissions to be included in entity inventories.
2. Emission Reduction Guidelines (Chapter 2)
This chapter of the draft Technical Guidelines provides detailed
guidance on the calculation of emission reductions as described in
section 300.8 of the revised General Guidelines.
a. Choosing calculation methods and identifying subentities. The
first step in the process of calculating emission reductions is the
selection of the appropriate calculation method and the identification
of the subentities, if necessary, depending on the number of
calculation methods needed to capture the entity's total reductions. As
entities change, it may be necessary to add or modify subentities. This
part of the process is described in detail in section 2.2.3 of the
Emission Reductions Guidelines.
The guidance on the selection of appropriate emission reduction
calculation methods makes clear that the five methods identified in the
revised General Guidelines usually have specific applications and are
not generally interchangeable. Any entity that is using more than one
method of calculating emission reductions must identify a distinct
subentity for each method used. As entities change, it may be necessary
to add or modify subentities, so this section also provides guidance on
this process.
b. Base periods. The determination of emission reductions requires
that current levels of emissions or some other measure be compared with
a comparable measure for some previous year or time period of up to
four years, referred to as the base period. Chapter 2 of the draft
Technical Guidelines describes how to establish base periods and the
circumstances under which they can be changed.
DOE permits this flexibility in defining the base period so that
reporters can select the time period that is most representative of the
actual past operations of the entity or subentity for which reductions
are being estimated. However, DOE does limit this flexibility by
requiring the last year of the base period to be the year immediately
preceding the first year of reported reductions. Once established, the
base period should remain fixed unless changes in the entity or its
output require a change to the base period. For entities that intend to
register reductions, all initial base periods must end in the start
year. This requirement will limit the ability of reporters to select a
base period for which a particular subentity had the highest emissions
or emissions intensity in order to maximize the amount of emission
reductions.
Reporters are permitted to change the base period used to calculate
reductions for an entity or subentity in a subsequent reporting year
only under limited circumstances where there has been a fundamental
change in the activity or structure of the entity or subentity.
Public comment is specifically solicited on the flexibility to set
and modify base periods, as well as on limits to this flexibility,
which are designed to reduce the likelihood that reporters will
manipulate base periods in order to maximize emission reductions.
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c. Base Values. A base value is the emissions level, emissions
intensity or other value to which a comparable reporting year value is
compared in order to calculate an emission reduction. A base value can
be a historic emissions level, historic emissions intensity, carbon
stock, benchmark emissions intensity or other quantity. The Emission
Reduction Guidelines describe how to establish base values and the
circumstances under which they can be changed.
DOE believes that base values should be derived from or be directly
correlated to historic data to ensure that registered reductions
represent real reductions relative to past emissions or emissions
intensity levels. In some cases, the draft Technical Guidelines specify
the use of a benchmark provided by DOE or calculated by the reporting
entity according the DOE's guidelines. DOE solicits comment on whether
or not reporters should be given the flexibility to establish base
values that are more stringent than (usually lower than) the base
values derived from actual performance during the base period. While a
more stringent base value would reduce the quantity of registered
reductions for which an entity qualified, such flexibility would enable
entities to use as the basis for calculating emission reductions an
emissions intensity or technology threshold that might be more
meaningful or relevant to their industry.
If the base value is based on historic conditions, it represents
the emissions or emissions intensity in the base period of the entity
or subentity as it is configured in the reporting year. The base value
must be adjusted to reflect the acquisition and divestiture of business
units and the insourcing and outsourcing of emissions-producing
activities that has occurred since the base period. Such adjustments to
the base value are necessary to ensure that the comparison between base
period and reporting year emissions or emissions intensity is valid and
the difference in emission or emissions intensity are not due to
changes in the boundary of the entity or subentity. Without such
adjustments, a reporter would be able to achieve a nominal reduction in
emissions intensity by outsourcing an activity and related emissions
sources contributing to the output of the entity or subentity.
Likewise, a reporter could be penalized for insourcing emissions-
producing activities that it previously purchased from outside sources.
Public comment is solicited on the flexibility to set and modify
base values, as well as on limits to this flexibility, which are
designed to reduce the likelihood that reporters will manipulate base
periods in order to maximize emission reductions.
d. Method-specific guidance. The Emission Reduction Guidelines
provide detailed guidance for each of the five calculation methods
identified in section 300.8 of the revised General Guidelines.
i. Emissions intensity. This section of the draft Technical
Guidelines provides detailed guidance on the use of emission intensity
methods to calculate emission reductions.
Greenhouse gas intensity metrics, which measure improvements in
emission intensity independent of economic growth or growth in
production, use either a physical or an economic value for the
denominator. The draft Technical Guidelines provide a list of criteria
to assist reporters in selecting output metrics.
A number of trade associations and manufacturers were interviewed
to test their comfort with physical metrics, and any desire to use
composites or indices. Based on their responses, and comments from
stakeholders at workshops and in writing, DOE has decided to urge the
use of physical metrics; however, in some cases the use of physical
metrics becomes increasingly difficult and the use of economic metrics
may be an appropriate alternative * * * Section 2.4.1.1 of the draft
Technical Guidelines lists acceptable measures of physical output to
assist potential reporters. Public comment is specifically solicited on
this list and the need for additional efforts to standardize the
definition and application of output metrics.
ii. Absolute emissions. The change in absolute emissions method for
calculating reductions compares an entity's current (reduction year)
emissions with its emissions in the base period. However, when using
this method, entities must demonstrate that any emission reductions
have not been caused by reductions in the entity's output. This section
of the draft Technical Guidelines provides further guidance on how to
calculate emission reductions using this method.
To demonstrate that its output has not declined, a reporting entity
must identify a physical or economic measure of the entity's activity
that can serve as a sufficiently credible proxy for output. The
relationship between this activity measure and entity output needs to
be sufficiently close to indicate the direction of the change in
activity. The draft guidelines describe some of the acceptable activity
measures that might be used for this purpose.
Base period emissions used to calculate changes in absolute
emissions must be adjusted to reflect boundary changes, including
acquisition and divestiture of emission sources and outsourcing or
insourcing of emissions-producing activities that existed during the
base period. Base period emissions may include emissions from sources
that are no longer emitting in the reduction year. However, no
adjustment may be made to base period emissions resulting from the
addition of new emissions sources unless the reporter can demonstrate
that the addition of this source represents the insourcing or
acquisition of an activity previously conducted by another entity,
rather than the expansion of the existing activity of the entity (also
referred to as organic growth).
This approach to calculating emission reductions from changes in
absolute emissions is similar to the approach specified in the
Greenhouse Gas Protocol developed by WRI/WBCSD, with the proviso that
this method cannot be used if the entity's output has declined during
the reporting period.
iii. Avoided emissions. Only entities or subentities that do not
have emissions in their chosen base period may rely exclusively on the
method specified in the Draft Technical Guidelines for calculating
avoided emissions. Most entities that generate and export (sell)
electricity, heat or hot/chilled water must use either changes in
absolute emissions or a method that combines the consideration of
changes in emissions intensity and changes in avoided emissions, which
is described below and in section 2.4.6 of the draft Technical
Guidelines.
Avoided Emission Benchmarks and Indirect Emission Coefficients. The
draft Technical Guidelines specify various benchmarks that must be used
in the calculation of reductions associated with avoided emissions. For
electricity, the draft Technical Guidelines explain that an avoided
emissions benchmark will be specified by EIA based on the average
emissions intensity of the U.S. electric sector. Comparable benchmarks
must be used by entities when reporting emissions reductions generated
outside the United States. During the development of the draft
Technical Guidelines, a number of alternative methods for establishing
such benchmarks were considered. In theory, such benchmarks should
approximate the emissions being displaced by the incremental generation
of power from low or no emitting sources. However, there is no accepted
methodology for identifying such marginal emissions. Various possible
methods were explored, but none yielded values that were considered
more reliable or useful
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than the U.S. average emissions intensity value ultimately included in
the draft Technical Guidelines. DOE specifically solicits comments on
the selection of this benchmark value and the related benchmarks
described in the draft Technical Guidelines.
iv. Carbon storage. DOE received comments proposing up-front
registration of forest carbon sequestration. Forestry projects
generally have high up-front costs with carbon sequestration benefits
that accumulate gradually over long time frames. High initial costs
coupled with delayed benefits may discourage forestry projects as well
as other similar long-term investments. Up-front registration may over-
or under-estimate actual sequestration over the lifetime of a project
because it is based on estimated actions and timelines. DOE has decided
not to adopt the proposed up-front registration of forest
sequestration. DOE solicits additional comments on including provisions
that would allow early recognition of long term carbon sequestration
benefits.
The draft Technical Guidelines describe the procedures that should
be followed to calculate annual volumes of reductions associated with
increases in carbon stocks.
(1) Reductions from increases in terrestrial carbon stocks (forest,
agriculture, rangelands). The terrestrial carbon pools described in the
draft Technical Guidelines include forest trees, forest under-story,
forest dead and downed wood (on-site), forest floor, forest soils,
agricultural soils, range soils, and grazing land soils. Absolute
increases in terrestrial carbon stocks can contribute to an entity's
registered reductions. In addition, the draft Technical Guidelines
specify how reductions associated with these pools should be treated
when the reported lands are sold, purchased, converted to other uses,
certified as sustainably managed, considered incidental lands, or
affected by a natural disturbance.
Carbon losses associated with natural disturbance are generally
beyond the control of landowners. In the interest of not penalizing
entities for such uncontrollable losses, DOE has included the following
provision for accounting for natural disturbance in emission reductions
calculations in the draft Technical Guidelines:
Entities that experience natural disturbance such as wildfire,
pests, or extreme weather, can choose to separately account for the
carbon stock losses associated with these natural phenomena. In this
case, entities will report the disturbance-associated carbon stock
changes as a separate item in their terrestrial carbon stock
inventory; however, they will not include the carbon stock changes
in their calculation of reductions. Entities will continue to track
carbon stocks on the identified land in their inventory. Until the
carbon stocks return to pre-disturbance levels, carbon fluxes on
lands that have undergone disturbances cannot be included in
calculating reductions.
(2) Reductions from increases in carbon stored in wood products.
Significant quantities of carbon harvested from forest systems can be
stored for long periods in the form of wood products or in materials
deposited in landfills. Entities reporting changes in terrestrial
carbon can include the expected storage of carbon in the wood products
pool in their estimates of annual carbon stock changes. The draft
Technical Guidelines describe two approaches for estimating the amount
of carbon stored in the wood products pool. Entities may estimate the
decay of materials stored in wood products over time and account for
the carbon stock losses in the year in which they occur. Alternatively,
entities may calculate the amount of carbon expected to remain in
products and landfills after a 100-year period and include this amount
in their terrestrial carbon stock inventory. The latter approach is
intended to limit the complexity associated with tracking annual decay
rates in the wood products pool. Recognizing that the simpler approach
uses a 100-year time frame and does not reflect actual annual
fluctuations in carbon storage, the method is included with the
understanding that it cannot over-estimate carbon stored in wood
products. Public comments on this option are specifically solicited.
(3) Reductions from the preservation of existing carbon stocks.
Actions to legally protect existing terrestrial carbon stocks can
result in emissions of greenhouse gases being avoided. While it is
difficult to know with certainty if or when carbon that is currently
stored in terrestrial systems will be released in the future, it is
probable that actions to ensure the protection of existing stocks will
result in greenhouse gas benefits in the future. As a consequence, the
1605(b) program would allow entities to register reductions associated
with actions taken to protect existing terrestrial carbon stocks,
equivalent to 1/100th of the start year carbon stocks in each reporting
year. This provision requires an entity to document the action and
follow the draft Technical Guidelines for estimating and reporting
annual carbon stocks on legally protected lands.
v. Action-specific. There are a number of circumstances under which
reporters may undertake specific actions (often referred to as
``projects'') that yield emission reductions that cannot be quantified
using any of the other measurement or estimation methods provided for
in the guidelines. In such cases, reporting entities would have to
follow the guidance provided in section 2.4.5 of the draft Technical
Guidelines.
There are a number of action-specific reductions that do not allow
reporters to develop an estimate of base-year emissions based on an
extant technology or process and base-year activity levels. DOE has
provided guidance in the draft Technical Guidelines for a limited
positive list of such action-specific reductions (see section 2.4.5.6).
This positive list of actions includes: coalmine degasification;
landfill methane recovery; transmission and distribution improvements;
and geologic sequestration.
DOE solicits recommendations on other specific actions for which
guidance should be provided.
There are other actions that have been reported to the current
Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Program that will not be eligible
for registration as action-specific reductions. In some cases they
might be reported as ``offsets'' under the revised guidelines, if the
reporting entity enters into an agreement with the entity directly
responsible for the reductions. In circumstances where no such
agreement is feasible, the reduction would not qualify for
registration. These actions typically fall within one of three
categories:
--They result in avoided emissions from activities other than energy
supply (increased use of less emissions intensive materials in
manufactured products);
--They result in reduced emissions from highly diffuse sources (public
education related to energy conservation); or
--The location and ownership of resulting reductions is impossible to
determine (retail sales of discounted compact fluorescent bulbs).
Actions that often fall into these categories include: Utility-
sponsored DSM programs; manufacturer improvement in the energy
efficiency of products; employee commuting reduction; coal ash reuse;
halogenated substance substitution; and materials recycling/source
reductions. DOE seeks comment on the practicality of reporting these
actions directly or as offsets, and suggestions on estimation methods
that would mitigate the constraints identified above and allow
reductions from a broader range of such actions to
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be reported. In particular, DOE is open to future consideration of
practical methods, consistent with the structure and objectives of the
revised guidelines, to enable manufacturers of more energy efficient
products to register the emission reductions resulting from the use of
these products. DOE recognizes that product manufacturers often play an
important role in accelerating the introduction of new, more energy
efficient technologies, and that the revised guidelines might be
designed to enable such manufacturers to register such emission
reductions under certain circumstances. In theory, such reductions
might be reported as offsets, but this would require an agreement
between the manufacturer and the end-user, and the reporting
requirements contained in the revised guidelines would likely
discourage such arrangements. Further, some of the improvements in
product efficiency are mandated by Federal law.
vi. Estimating Reductions Associated with Energy Exports. Entities
that export (sell) electricity, steam or hot/chilled water and have
emissions in their base period must calculate emission reductions using
either changes in absolute emission reductions or a method that
combines the consideration of changes in emissions intensity and
avoided emissions. This combined method, described below and in section
2.4.6 of the draft Technical Guidelines, takes into account the effects
of a wide range of actions that generators can take to reduce the
emissions intensity of the generating sector. These actions can be
categorized into two main types: (1) Those that reduce the emissions
intensity of a generator's own, existing capacity, and (2) those that
decrease generation from other, high-emissions intensity generators.
DOE assessed the following four options for estimating the emission
reductions in this sector in order to compare their ability to
recognize reductions from both types of actions, and their tendency to
favor or disadvantage generators according to their historical
emissions rate. The four options were:
(1) Average Intensity: Reductions would be calculated from the
change in entity-wide, average emissions intensity from the base period
to the reporting year.
(2) Plant-by-Plant: Reductions would be calculated separately for
each plant, either from changes in the emissions intensity of existing
plants from the base period to the reporting year or from the emissions
intensity of new plants compared to the emission intensity of a
``benchmark'' emissions intensity value.
(3) Existing and New Plants: Reductions would be calculated from
the change in the average emissions intensity of existing plants from
the base period to the reporting year; new plants would qualify for
reductions if their emissions intensity was below a ``benchmark''
value.
(4) Base and Incremental Generation: Reductions would be calculated
from entity-wide, average emissions intensity calculated in two parts.
For quantities of power that are equal to or less than the quantity
generated in the base period, the emissions intensity value would be
entity's average for its base period. For quantities in excess of the
base period generated, the average emissions intensity would be the
``benchmark'' value.
For all four methods, emissions reductions are calculated by
multiplying the difference between the appropriate base period and
reporting year generation intensity values (CO2/MWh) by the
reporting year generation (MWh).
Following analysis and review, DOE concluded that Method 4 best
serves the purposes of the program. Method 1 allows high emitting
entities to register reductions for actions that do not reduce the
emissions intensity of the power sector on the whole, while making it
very difficult for low emitting entities to register reductions, even
if they were taking actions that did reduce the emissions intensity of
the power sector as a whole. Method 2 would not capture reductions for
certain actions that do lead to sector-wide reductions, including
shifting load to lower-emitting generators. Method 4 is preferable to
Method 3 in that it is able to recognize the benefits of a broader
range of load shifting actions and tends to treat generators with
substantially different characteristics more `equitably'; increased
generation output, for instance, is compared to the benchmark value
regardless of whether it is from new capacity or increased output from
existing generation. DOE solicits public comment on its selection of
Method 4, Base and Incremental Generation, as the preferred method.
Combined Heat and Power (CHP), and Thermal Energy Generators. Some
energy generators distribute heating and/or cooling to multiple end
users, either exclusively or in addition to electric power.
Reductions from CHP or district heating/cooling systems are to be
calculated using the same basic method specified for electricity
generators, although reductions associated with electricity generation
and with thermal generation must be calculated separately. Appropriate
thermal energy benchmarks are to be specified by EIA or calculated by
reporters according to guidelines provided by DOE. This approach would
enable CHP and thermal energy generators to obtain recognition for
reductions that result from a broad range of different actions,
including increased generation (since most CHP plants are more
efficient than conventional power and heat generation), fuel
substitution or improved system performance.
III. Public Workshop
A public workshop will be held to receive comment on all elements
of the draft Technical Guidelines, as well as interim final General
Guidelines that DOE is publishing in the Rules and Regulations section
of today's issue of the Federal Register. DOE invites any person who
has an interest in the draft Technical Guidelines and revised General
Guidelines to participate in this workshop. Because space is limited,
persons wishing to participate in the workshop should inform DOE by
identifying the person or persons likely to attend, an e-mail or phone
number for follow-up contacts, and providing a brief description of the
specific issues of particular interest. This information may be
provided electronically at the following Web site: http://www.pi.energy.gov/enhancingGHGregistry/draftTechnicalGuidelines.html or
may be provided in writing to the person listed in the beginning of
this notice.
DOE will designate a DOE official to preside at the workshop, and
may also use a professional facilitator to facilitate discussion. The
workshop will not be conducted under formal rules governing judicial or
evidentiary-type proceedings, but DOE reserves the right to establish
procedures governing the conduct of the workshop. The workshop will be
organized so as to encourage the open discussion of specific issues by
the range of stakeholders and government representatives present. Prior
to the workshop a draft agenda, identifying specific issues for
discussion, will be made available at the following Web site: http://www.pi.energy.gov/enhancingGHGregistry/draftTechnicalGuidelines.html.
There will also be opportunities during the workshop for the
identification and discussion of issues not specifically identified on
the agenda. The presiding official will announce any further procedural
rules, or modification of the above procedures, needed for the proper
conduct of the workshop. Statements for the record of the workshop will
be accepted at the workshop.
[[Page 15169]]
Joint DOE/USDA Workshop
DOE and USDA invite persons interested in the draft Technical
Guidelines for Agriculture and Forestry and related revised General
Guidelines to participate in this workshop. The workshop will provide
an overview of the draft technical guidelines for agriculture and
forestry sources and sinks, opportunities to ask questions about the
proposed methods, and opportunities to discuss specific issues. Persons
interested in registering for the meetings or in obtaining more
information about USDA's efforts to develop accounting rules and
guidelines for forestry and agriculture should visit the following Web
site: http://www.usda.gov/agency/oce/gcpo/greenhousegasreporting.htm.
The Web site will also be used to make available draft and final
meeting agendas, information on lodging, or other information made
available before the meetings. Inquiries regarding the logistics for
this meeting may be e-mailed to [email protected].
IV. Forms
EIA, which is responsible for the operation of the 1605(b) program,
is preparing a set of draft forms for reporting under the revised
guidelines. Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, EIA plans
to issue a Federal Register notice soliciting public comment on these
draft forms as soon as practicable and to complete the comment review,
and revisions resulting from that review, before the effective date of
the guidelines.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 16, 2005.
Karen A. Harbert,
Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 05-5606 Filed 3-23-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P