EPA Releases 2011 GHG Data

On February 5, 2013, EPA released 2011 greenhouse gas (GHG) emission data on its web-based Facility Level Information on Greenhouse Gases Tool ("FLIGHT"). The 2011 GHG data is the second year of GHG emission data EPA has collected and made available to the public under the GHG reporting rule, which was finalized in 2009 and requires large emitters of GHGs to annually monitor and report their emissions beginning calendar year 2010. FLIGHT allows the public to search for GHG emissions data by facility name and geographic location. Results obtained can be sorted by GHG type and amount.

The 2011 data revealed that as in 2010, power plants were the largest stationary source of GHGs, with emissions of 2,221 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (mmtCO2e) amounting to roughly one-third of all U.S. emissions. However, 2011 emissions from power plants were approximately 4.6% below 2010 emissions. Petroleum and natural gas systems, which reported GHG data for the first time in 2011, represented the second largest source of stationary GHG emissions at 225 mmtCO2e. Refineries represented the third largest source of GHG emissions, at 182 mmtCO2e. Refinery GHG emissions for 2011 increased by half a percent over 2010 emissions.