Florida Department of Environmental Protection Offset Protocols and Florida’s Greenhouse Gas Cap-and-Trade Program Kelly Stevens Meteorologist Division of Air Resource Management.
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Florida Department of Environmental Protection Offset Protocols and Florida’s Greenhouse Gas Cap-and-Trade Program Kelly Stevens Meteorologist Division of Air Resource Management Background • Florida Climate Protection Act requires DEP to generally consider cost containment mechanisms for any draft rule proposal for GHG cap-and-trade program for electric utilities • May 24, 2010 released our Comparative Study of Selected Offset Protocols for Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Reporting Programs • Accessible at: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/air/rules/ghg/electric.htm Offsets • Reduce or sequester greenhouse gas emissions at any non-capped location • e.g. landfill gas capture of methane, forest sequestration of CO2 • Offers choice for regulated entities • Protocols are the set of directions or recommendations for an offset project • Can vary from highly technical and specific to more general and suggestive Purpose of this study • What this study is NOT: • Evaluate program level issues • Evaluate cap-and-trade program issues • Policy or policy recommendations • What this study is: • • • • Evaluation of technical elements Highlights similarities and differences Informative & unique Guide for future stakeholder discussion Table 0.1 — Protocols by Project Type Alberta American Chicago Clean Climate GE Energy New South Regional U.S. DOE Offset Carbon Climate Development Action Financial Wales Greenhouse 1605(b) System Registry Exchange Mechanism Reserve Services Gas Initiative AOS Forestry Agriculture Waste Management Miscellaneous In Study ACR CCX CDM CAR GE AES NSW RGGI DOE U.S. EPA Climate Leaders Voluntary Carbon Standard EPA CL VCS Table 0.1 — Protocols by Project Type Afforestation/reforestation Under Considered for future CDM CAR GE AES NSW RGGI DOE EPA CL VCS l l l l l l l l l l Approved AOS ACR CCX l l l l l l l l l l l l l l Forest management Forest conservation and preservation Forest products* development l l Urban forestry Manure management Agriculture land management l l l l l l l l l l l Rangeland management Landfill gas capture Waste and wastewater management End-use energy efficiency l Ozone depleting substances l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l SF6-related projects Geologic sequestration Cement plants l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l Landfill Gas Capture • Byproducts of decomposing material in landfills is CO2 and methane • Landfill gas capture as a GHG offset involves collecting LFG for destruction or use Image from EPA: http://www.epa.gov/lmop/basic-info/lfg.html#05 LFG Capture – Table Sample Table 3.1 Waste Chicago Climate Exchange Management Offsets Landfill Gas Capture CCX Clean Development Climate Action Reserve Mechanism (CDM) CAR Linking to other programs ISO for baseline calculations None CDM, ISO calibration standards, IPCC technical values Landfill must be NSPS exempt Not explicitly stated but requires project to be above regulatory • Flaring • Electricity and thermal energy production • Pipelined Yes Applicable uses of captured Yes, but will accept credits from before NSPS controls are operational • Flaring • Electricity generation • Flaring • Electricity and thermal energy production • Pipelined LFG Capture – Technical Comparison • Varied level of detail: Some included gas utilization effects (e.g. CCX, CDM, etc.) while others did not (CAR, RGGI) • Monitoring: LFG flow rate continuous measurement required by 5 protocols, others do not • Baseline and other calculations: 6 protocols consider GWP of CH4 21 tons CO2e, two protocols 23 tons CO2e LFG Capture – Applicability to Florida • Governor’s energy and climate change action plan: Ranked 8th of 28 recommended projects based on cumulative reduction of GHG • Quantification of existing sites in Florida • As many as 90 other landfills which do not require air permits and may be eligible for LFG capture offset projects • Currently 8 LFG projects listed or registered with CAR in FL Map from CAR: http://www.climateactionreserve.org/how/projects/ Listed and Registered Offset Projects with CAR L: Landfill gas capture L: Livestock gas capture F: Forestry O: Organic waste digestion O: Ozone depleting substances C: Coal mine methane N: Nitric acid Map from CAR: http://www.climateactionreserve.org/how/projects/ LFG Capture – Applicability to Florida • Inventory of potentially eligible landfills in Florida illustrates that there may be some applicability of this offset project type in Florida • Simpler, less detailed requirements could be easier to comply with but may be inconsistent • Complex ones more accountable • Varying levels of complexity and requirements may be more suitable for Florida More Information • Kelly Stevens [email protected] (850) 921 – 9550 • Electric Utility GHG Reduction page http://www.dep.state.fl.us/air/rules/ghg/electric.htm