Nevada Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Reference Case Projections

FINAL Nevada GHG Inventory and Reference Case Projection
CCS, July 2007
The Clark County Department of Air Quality and Environmental Management (DAQEM) and
Washoe County District Health Department have permitting authority over air pollution sources
in their respective counties. Washoe County confirmed that they do not have any industrial
processes covered by the EIIP guidance.
The Clark County DAQEM provided production data for one lime manufacturing plant for 1999,
2000, 2001, and 2003. The Clark County DAQEM indicated that it had one cement plant, which
closed in 2004 and which produced clinker, but was unable to identify any production data for
the plant. The Clark County DAQEM noted that it has one titanium metals plant that uses
magnesium in a reduction furnace for purifying titanium, but it was not clear if this process is a
source of SF 6 emissions. Otherwise, Clark County does not have any other industrial processes
covered by the EIIP guidance.
Results
Figures D1 and D2 show historic and projected emissions for the Nevada industrial processes
sector from 1990 to 2020. Total gross GHG emissions were about 2.1 MMTCO 2 e in 2000 (4.6%
of total emissions), rising to about 4.6 MMTCO 2 e in 2020 (6.4% of total emissions). Emissions
from the overall industrial processes category are expected to grow rapidly, as shown in Figures
D1 and D2, with emissions growth almost entirely due to the increasing use of HFCs and PFCs
in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, and, to a lesser extent, as a result of emissions of
CO 2 associated with the production of lime and cement.
Substitutes for Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS)
HFCs and PFCs are used as substitutes for ODS, most notably chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs [CFCs
are also potent warming gases]) in compliance with the Montreal Protocol and the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990. 50 Even low amounts of HFC and PFC emissions, for example, from leaks
and other releases associated with normal use of the products, can lead to high GHG emissions
on a carbon-equivalent basis. Emissions from the use of ODS substitutes in Nevada were
calculated using the default methods in SGIT (see dark green line in Figure D2). Emissions have
increased from 0.0017 MMtCO 2 e in 1990 to about 0.54 MMtCO 2 e in 2000, and are expected to
increase at an average rate of 8.0% per year from 2000 to 2020 due to increased substitutions of
these gases for ODS. The projected rate of increase for these emissions is based on projections
for national emissions from the US EPA report referenced in Table D2.
Electricity Distribution
Emissions of SF 6 from electrical equipment have experienced declines since the early-nineties
(see brown line in Figure D2), mostly due to voluntary action by industry. SF 6 is used as an
electrical insulator and interrupter in electricity T&D systems. Emissions for Nevada from 1990
to 2002 were estimated based on the estimates of emissions per kWh from the U.S. EPA GHG
inventory and on Nevada’s electricity consumption estimates provided in SGIT. The U.S.
50 As noted in EIIP Chapter 6, ODS substitutes are primarily associated with refrigeration and air conditioning, but
also have many other uses including as fire control agents, cleaning solvents, aerosols, foam blowing agents, and in
sterilization applications. The applications, stocks, and emissions of ODS substitutes depend on technology
characteristics in a range of equipment. For the US national inventory, a detailed stock vintaging model was used,
but this modeling approach has not been completed at the state level.
Nevada Division of 46 Center for Climate Strategies
Environmental Protection
www.climatestrategies.us