Energy-related CO2 emissions for first half of 2016 at lowest levels since 1991
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced on Wednesday that the first six months of 2016 produced the lowest levels of emissions during the first six months of the year seen since 1991.
U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produced 2,530 million metric tons in the first six months of the year. Mild weather and a shift in the fuels being used to generate electricity largely contributed to the decline in energy-related emissions. The EIA projects that energy-associated CO2 emissions will decrease to 5,179 million metric tons by the end of 2016, which would be the lowest annual level reported since 1992.
The first half of 2016 recorded the fewest number of heating degree days in the U.S. since 1949. Heating degree days are used as an indicator of heating demand, because warmer weather during the winter decreases demand for heating fuels. Total primal energy consumption was approximately two percent lower when compared to the first six months of 2015. Residential and electric power sectors displayed the largest decreases in primary energy consumption, at nine percent and three percent respectively.
Coal and natural gas consumption also decreased over the first six months compared to 2015. Coal displayed a greater decrease at approximately 18 percent, while natural gas consumption decreased by approximately 1 percent. The relatively large decrease accounted for an approximately 1 percent increase in total petroleum consumption as a result of low gasoline prices.
Renewable fuels that do not produce CO2 reported a nine percent consumption increase during the first six months of 2016 when compared to the previous year. Wind energy experienced the largest electricity generating capacity additions of any fuel in 2015, accounting for approximately half of this year’s increased renewable fuel consumption. Hydroelectric power represented approximately 35 percent of the increase, as drought conditions lessened along the West Coast. Solar energy was responsible for approximately 13 percent of the consumption increase, and is expected to report the largest capacity additions of any fuel during 2016.
