PG&E Sustainability Report: Plant CO2 Emissions Up 31%
Power plants operated by Pacific Gas & Electric increased their absolute carbon emissions almost 31 percent year-on-year in 2011, according to the company’s latest sustainability report.
In 2010, the company produced 1,545,892 metric tons of CO2 equivalent. In 2011 this figure jumped to 2,024,206. The increase of roughly 500,000 metric tons of CO2e stems from the opening of a new generating station that produced around 764,000 metric tons of CO2e in 2011, along with a shuttering of the company’s Humboldt Bay power plant, which produced around 276,000 metric tons of CO2e in 2010.
For its 2011 emissions, PG&E began reporting the greenhouse gases from natural gas supplied to customers. Emissions from this source totaled over 39 million metric tons of CO2e in 2011.
The company says it is committed to meeting California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard requirement to deliver 33 percent renewable energy by the end of 2020.
PG&E has a goal to reduce energy use by 15 percent in million metric BTUs at PG&E offices and service yards by 2014 from a 2009 baseline, equivalent to avoiding about 4,000 metric tonnes of CO2. In 2011, the company reduced its energy use by 4.8 percent – or about 383,150 MMBTUs – exceeding its 4.2 percent target for the year. In 2012, PG&E is seeking an additional 3 percent reduction, the report says.
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