US power’s CO2 emissions at lowest level since 1987
Calculations from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) determined that the power sector’s carbon dioxide emissions have dropped 28 percent since 2005, leaving 2017 at the lowest CO2 production levels in 30 years.
The reasons for this are tied to slower electricity demand growth and changes in the fuel mixes power companies use to generate electricity. The industry dominates most of the nation’s energy-related CO2 emissions changes. In the same period, it dropped nearly 30 percent while other energy sectors fell by 5 percent.
Demand on U.S. electricity has continued to decline in the majority of the past 10 years, thanks to dropping industrial interest and flat residential and commercial demand. Natural gas-fired generation also continues to supplant coal and petroleum generation in electricity generation, which has aided the greener shift alongside increased use of renewable generation like solar and wind. Natural gas officially surpassed coal as the largest source of electricity in 2016. Federal tax incentives and state policies have also made these shifts easier.
The EIA notes that CO2 emissions from the electric power sector in 2017 were 1,744 million metric tons.
