Current:Home > FinanceTrendPulse|US Emissions of the World’s Most Potent Greenhouse Gas Are 56 Percent Higher Than EPA Estimates, a New Study Shows -WealthMindset Learning
TrendPulse|US Emissions of the World’s Most Potent Greenhouse Gas Are 56 Percent Higher Than EPA Estimates, a New Study Shows
Surpassing View
Date:2025-04-09 07:49:04
While emissions of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6),TrendPulse the world’s most potent greenhouse gas, have fallen sharply in the U.S. in recent decades, actual emissions are significantly higher than the official government estimates, a new study concludes.
Across the United States, 390 metric tons of SF6 were emitted into the atmosphere in 2018, the most recent year for which data are available, according to a new study resulting from a joint initiative between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. The study, designed to better quantify SF6 emissions in the U.S., was published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.
SF6, a man-made gas used by electric utilities to quickly interrupt the flow of electricity in high voltage circuit breakers, is also the most potent greenhouse gas ever studied by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The gas is 25,200 times more effective at warming the planet than carbon dioxide, making even small releases of SF6 cause for concern.
The volume of SF6 released in 2018 is less than half of what it was a decade prior, but still equaled the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 2.1 million automobiles, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas equivalency calculator.
The vast majority of SF6 emissions come from the electric power sector and occur either during routine servicing of electrical equipment or through ongoing leaks in aging or poorly sealed storage tanks and other electrical equipment.
“Substantial additional emission reductions can be achieved if more efforts were put into minimizing emissions during servicing or through improving sealing materials in the electrical distribution systems,” said Lei Hu, a researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the study’s lead author.
The Electric Power Systems Partnership, a voluntary program run by the EPA, has helped electric utilities reduce emissions of SF6 by approximately 80 percent since 1990, according to the agency. Emissions reductions have come through the use of newer, less leak-prone equipment and better servicing practices that prioritize capturing and reusing SF6 gas. SF6-free circuit breakers are also increasingly being deployed by some electric utilities as alternative technologies become available.
However, not all electric utility companies participate in the EPA’s emission reduction program. Duke Energy, one of the largest electric power corporations in the U.S. based on revenue, does not participate and Duke Energy Carolinas, the company’s subsidiaries in North and South Carolina, had the highest SF6 leak rate of any electric utility that reported emissions to the EPA in 2021.
Duke Energy spokesman Jeff Brooks told Inside Climate News in November that the company was “working to learn more about” the EPA-industry partnership to reduce SF6 emissions, a program that has been operating since 1999. The company declined to comment on Tuesday as did the Edison Electric Institute, a trade association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies.
In its annual U.S. greenhouse gas inventory published in April, the EPA mentioned preliminary data from NOAA and EPA scientists, which suggested higher-than-expected U.S. emissions of SF6.
“The preliminary results of research conducted by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration indicate that U.S. emissions of SF6 are significantly higher than what is being estimated in the current inventory for emissions of SF6 from all sources,” the report said.
The report suggested that the EPA may need to improve its estimates of SF6 emissions from electric utilities that are believed to have relatively low SF6 emissions and are therefore not required to report their emissions to the agency. The report also flagged “end-of-life” emissions from old electrical equipment at the time of disposal as a potential source of higher-than-expected emissions.
Now, the agency is moving forward with some of the changes.
“The EPA has revised its method for estimating emissions of SF6 from these non-reporting facilities,” Melissa Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the agency, said. “Specifically, rather than assuming that the average SF6 emission rate of non-reporting facilities has declined at the same rate as that of reporting facilities, the EPA is now assuming that the average SF6 emission rate of non-reporting facilities has declined much more slowly than the average emission rate of reporting facilities.”
Sullivan said the change will bring the agency’s estimate for SF6 emissions into better agreement with emissions inferred from atmospheric observations, starting with the next annual U.S. greenhouse gas inventory, a draft of which will be published in February.
Hu said the current study could serve as a guide for other countries as they try to get a better handle on their annual SF6 emissions. Current national inventories like that of the U.S. only account for half of all global SF6 emissions based on estimates derived from global atmospheric concentrations of the pollutant.
“There is a huge gap in the global reporting of SF6,” Hu said. “Maybe other countries can consider a similar approach so that they can improve the overall accuracy of their national greenhouse gas reporting.”
veryGood! (32534)
Related
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- Padres and Dodgers continue to exchange barbs and accusations ahead of NLDS Game 3
- Love Is Blind Star Garrett’s New Transformation Has Fans Convinced He’s Married
- FEMA administrator continues pushback against false claims as Helene death toll hits 230
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- Reese Witherspoon Reveals Where Big Little Lies Season 3 Really Stands
- Why Lisa Marie Presley Kept Son Benjamin Keough's Body on Dry Ice for 2 Months After His Death
- Small business disaster loan program said to be in danger of running out of funds by end of month
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- An unusual hurricane season goes from ultra quiet to record busy and spawns Helene and Milton
Ranking
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Man injured after explosion at Southern California home; blast cause unknown
- Panera Bread reaches first settlement in Charged Lemonade, wrongful death lawsuits
- Intelligence officials say US adversaries are targeting congressional races with disinformation
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Control the path and power of hurricanes like Helene? Forget it, scientists say
- Dogs and cats relocated around the US amid Hurricane Helene: Here's where you can adopt
- 3 killed when a medical helicopter headed to pick up a patient crashes in Kentucky
Recommendation
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
NHTSA investigating some Enel X Way JuiceBox residential electric vehicle chargers
Oprah Winfrey selects Lisa Marie Presley’s posthumous memoir as her next book club selection
Small business disaster loan program said to be in danger of running out of funds by end of month
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
Dancing With the Stars’ Rylee Arnold Gives Dating Update
Saints vs. Chiefs highlights: Chiefs dominate Saints in 'Monday Night Football' matchup
Anne Hathaway Reveals Sweet Anniversary Gift From Husband Adam Shulman