Technical Notes: Methodology for Measuring Results

TECHNICAL NOTES: METHODOLOGY FOR MEASURING RESULTS1
ENERGY STAR
For more details on current ENERGY STAR program accomplishment metrics and related technical notes,
go to energystar.gov/numbers.
Energy Supply Programs
Green Power Partnership (GPP)
As a condition of partnership, GPP Partners report data annually on their use of qualifying green power,
expressed in megawatt-hours. These data are screened to ensure Partner green power use meets GPP
eligibility requirements (e.g., minimum amount of use, resource eligibility, generation vintage etc.) and
any issues are resolved with the Partner.
EPA requires that all voluntary green power use be incremental to what is already required (e.g.
renewable energy use required by state renewable portfolio standards) or otherwise available to
Partners absent voluntary green power procurement. GPP Partners' voluntary green power use data is
based on and substantiated through the partner's ownership of the renewable energy certificates (RECs)
to preclude double counting. EPA only counts GPP Partners' voluntary green power use that follows
program participation or engagement. EPA estimates that the majority of recognized green power use is
due to the influence of the partnership, as Partners make commitments to meet and exceed EPA
minimum green power usage requirements (often at incremental cost) to remain in the program.
Further, EPA notes that its efforts to foster greater demand for green power resources has likely led to
additional market transformation benefits (e.g. lowered transaction costs, improved product offerings,
increased overall value), leading to additional voluntary green power use that is not included in the
program's GHG emissions reduction estimates (i.e., residential green power procurement and use).
Voluntary Methane Emissions Reductions Programs
EPA's voluntary methane programs facilitate recovery of methane from landfills, oil and natural gas
systems, agriculture (manure management), and coal mines, as well as promote use of the recovered
methane as a clean energy resource. Each program estimates the emissions reductions associated with
their partners and/or activities on an annual basis by tracking data and applying program-specific
methodologies. Value of gas mitigated assumes all methane mitigated is sold as natural gas, using the
average annual gas price from EIA.
Natural Gas STAR Program
The Natural Gas STAR Program calculates annual emissions reductions based on the emissions
reductions reported to the Program annually by oil and natural gas partner companies. The Natural Gas
STAR Program focuses on implementation of methane mitigation technologies and practices that are
1 Published July 2019.
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undertaken by companies voluntarily and are not covered by regulations. Partner companies have the
option of using default calculation methodologies or company-specific methodologies, which must be
documented on their annual reports. For more information, see https://www.epa.gov/natural-gas-
star-program.
Methane Challenge Program
The Methane Challenge Program began collecting annual emission reduction data from its partner oil
and natural gas companies in 2018. Like the Natural Gas STAR Program, Methane Challenge focuses on
implementation of methane mitigation technologies and practices that are undertaken by companies
voluntarily and are not covered by regulations. Methane Challenge draws on calculation methodologies
from the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (i.e., Part 98, Subpart W reporting) and thus, for most
emission sources, specifies the methodology to be used to calculate emission reductions. Details on the
methodologies used for Methane Challenge reporting can be found in the Program's technical
documents (available at: https://www.epa.gov/natural-gas-star-program/methane-challenge-
reporting).
AgSTAR Program
AgSTAR uses a methodology that estimates emission reductions from anaerobic digester projects, both
direct methane emissions reduced and indirect carbon dioxide emissions avoided. AgSTAR maintains a
database of anaerobic digester systems at livestock facilities in the United States that serves as the basis
for these emission reductions estimates. Direct methane emissions reductions result from the capture
and use of biogas that otherwise would escape into the atmosphere from livestock manure
management systems. Digester biogas methane projects that generate energy also have a secondary
benefit of avoided emissions of carbon dioxide from displaced fossil fuel combustion. For more
information, see https://www.epa.gov/agstar.
Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP)
LMOP uses a methodology that estimates emission reductions, both direct and indirect, from landfill gas
energy projects implemented at landfills. The direct reductions represent the collection and destruction
of methane generated from landfills that are not subject to EPA's air regulations. Indirect reductions are
calculated as the avoided carbon dioxide emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels. LMOP maintains
a comprehensive database of municipal solid waste landfills and landfill gas energy projects in the
United States. LMOP calculates annual reductions from projects for which the program provides
assistance or technical information, and for projects involving program partners. For more information,
see https://www.epa.gov/lmop.
Coalbed Methane Outreach Program (CMOP)
CMOP tracks emissions reductions achieved from coal mine methane recovery projects in the United
States. The program uses a methodology to estimate emissions reductions attributable to program
activities based upon a tiered approach depending on the extent of the program's involvement in the
specific project or the type of project. For more information, see https://www.epa.gov/cmop.
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Voluntary Fluorinated Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Programs
Through fluorinated greenhouse gas (FGHG) partnership programs, EPA identifies cost-effective
emissions reductions opportunities, recognizes industry accomplishments, and facilitates the transition
toward best environmental practices and technologies that are more environmentally friendly.
SF6 Emissions Reduction Partnership for Electric Power Systems (EPS)
The SF6 Emissions Reduction Partnership for Electric Power Systems has been estimating emissions of
SF6 using a facility-specific mass-balance methodology provided by the 2006 IPCC Guidelines as the Tier
3 approach for estimating emissions from electrical transmission and distribution facilities. EPA
calculates program achievements as the difference between annual estimated emissions under BAU
practices and annual reported emissions under the program. In 2012, the Greenhouse Gas Reporting
Program began providing annual facility-level emissions data from this sector, from both partners and
non-partners. In most cases, these data replace the partnership-collected data since the majority of
partner facilities are subject to mandatory reporting through the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.
For more information, see https://www.epa.gov/f-gas-partnership-programs/electric-power-systems-
partnership.
Responsible Appliance Disposal Program (RAD)
RAD program benefits are calculated based on data reported annually by partners, including: the
number and age of appliances collected; type and quantity of refrigerant recovered and reclaimed or
destroyed; type and quantity of foam blowing agent recovered and reclaimed or destroyed; weight of
metals, plastics, and glass recycled; quantity of hazardous waste products managed; and used oil
recovered. Benefits calculated include emissions avoided from the proper recovery of refrigerants and
foam blowing agents and the recycling of durable materials (i.e., metals, plastics, and glass). Although
the energy savings from the removal of old, working units from the electricity grid could be calculated,
these benefits are not included in the RAD totals to avoid potential double-counting with ENERGY STAR.
To estimate annual emissions avoided from the proper recovery of refrigerants and foam blowing
agents, the net masses of individual refrigerants and foam-blowing agents recovered from appliances
are used. Net masses are the actual masses recovered or removed, multiplied by the efficiency of
destruction and reclamation processes. These masses are then multiplied by their global warming
potential (GWP), and summed.
To calculate annual emissions avoided from the recycling of durable materials, RAD multiplies the total
mass of ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, plastics, and glass recovered from appliances by emissions
factors from EPA's Waste Reduction Model (WARM). WARM emission factors account for the difference
between emissions from the alternative scenario (i.e., recycling) and baseline scenario (i.e., landfilling).
GreenChill Partnership
To determine emissions reductions from the GreenChill Partnership, partners provide annual reports of
their corporate banks of refrigerant (i.e., refrigerant contained in equipment owned by the partner) as
well as emissions. EPA analyzes this information from partners, extrapolates trends, and compares the
results to typical U.S. non-GreenChill supermarkets. GreenChill partners provide emissions data
disaggregated by chemical. These data are used to calculate emissions in C02 equivalents and to
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determine the weighted average emissions rate of the GreenChill partners. To ensure calculations are
correct, each partner is given a report it can use to double-check its corporate-wide emissions rates, and
partnership averages are provided so that partners can assess the reasonableness of those averages,
benchmark their own emissions rates, and set goals to improve.
The average partner emissions are then compared to the national average for typical U.S. supermarkets,
based on information from EPA's Vintaging Model, the partners, and other industry experts. The
emissions reductions from the partnership are then taken as the difference of the emissions from the
typical U.S. store and the partnership average store, multiplied by the number of stores represented by
the data provided by the partners.
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