Grand Canyon Railway Hotel Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report

Transcription

1 Grand Canyon Railway Hotel Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report Erik Green and Billie Ford Northern Arizona University Climate Science and Solutions Professional Science Masters Program

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 3 Section 1: Methodology 5 Section 2: Emissions A. Electricity B. Natural gas C. Mobile Combustion D. Refrigerant/ AC Fugitive Emissions Section 3: Emissions Equivalents 18 Section 4: Recommendations and Conclusions 9 19 Appendix A: 2008, 2009 Emissions Data 21 Appendix B: Temperature, Occupancy and Electricity Correlation 23

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4 Executive Summary In, the operational functions of the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel resulted in approximately 1, metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions. The emission totals from will be used as the base year, so that comparisons can be made to future year s emission rates. Data was collected from electricity use, natural gas, mobile combustion, and refrigeration/ac units. The largest source of emissions was from electricity use, followed by natural gas usage, mobile combustion and refrigeration/ac leakage respectively. Refer to Figure 1. Refigerant & AC 6% Mobile Combustion 8% Natural Gas 24% Electricity 62% Figure 1: Summary of CO 2 e by catgory 1 P a g e

5 Total Emissions Source Amount Emissions (MT CO2e) % of Total Emissions Electricity 1, MWh % Natural Gas 56, CCF % Mobile Combustion 11, Gallons % Refrigerant & AC kg % Total 1, % The total emissions from the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel are equivalent to annual greenhouse gas emissions from 224 passenger vehicles; 2,653 barrels of oil consumed; or 6.2 railcars worth of coal. 2 P a g e

6 Introduction A base year level of emissions was determined for the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel for in accordance with ISO and The Climate Registry (TCR) General Reporting Protocol (GRP) for the voluntary reporting program. Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) emissions were evaluated for the purpose of this report. The Grand Canyon Railway Hotel located in Williams, Arizona is a major tourist attraction for visitors seeking to ride the train to the Grand Canyon National Park. The Grand Canyon Railway Hotel has taken initiative over the last few years to recognize ways to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and overall environmental impact in their 297 rooms and other hotel operations. They have systematically evaluated areas needing improvement such as inefficient lighting inside and outside of the hotel, as well as door thresholds that allow for heat escape. In addition they have made extensive progress in making rooms more environmentally friendly through the installation of low-flow shower heads, sinks and toilets; refillable toiletries; and courtesy cards giving guests the option to reuse towels and other linens. In addition to providing a base year for the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel to gauge future emission levels, this report also includes partial data of years 2008 and 2009 (Appendix A) for natural gas and electricity usage. The 2008/2009 data can assist the hotel in determining if efforts toward greener 3 P a g e

7 operations have reduced GHG emissions in the areas of electricity and natural gas consumption. 4 P a g e

8 Section 1: Methodology 1.1 Greenhouse Gases The emissions inventory produced in this report is based on the six internationally recognized greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC s), perfluorocarbons (PFC s) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). After gathering and analyzing data, it has been determined that the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel emissions include five of these six GHG s (there are no SF6 emissions). The data on emissions are converted to a common type, carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), and units are in metric tons (MT). 1.2 Emissions Scope Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions, those that originate within the organizational boundaries of the company. For the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, these include emissions from on-site burning of natural gas for heating, vehicle emissions and fugitive emissions (leakage) from HVAC, A/C (including vehicles) and refrigeration units. The following refrigerants were identified that have GHG s associated with them: R-22, R-134A, R404A and R-410A. Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions occurring outside the organizational boundaries of the company, which have been produced by activities occurring within the organizational boundaries of the company. The scope 2 emissions 5 P a g e

9 for the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel are a result of electricity consumed at the hotel whose emissions are produced at the power plant. The emission factor for electricity is determined by regions in the United States as defined in the GRP. Since Williams, AZ is in the Arizona/New Mexico region, it was used to calculate emissions from electricity. This region is comprised mainly of coalfired power plants, with some power coming from hydroelectric, nuclear and renewables. 1.3 Base Year Emissions calculations are based on utility consumption records, vehicle usage logs, refrigerant refill logs and refrigeration/air-conditioning unit inventory. Since full records were available for, this year should be considered the base year. Partial data was available for 2008 and 2009, and the resulting emissions for those years have been calculated separately and provided in Appendix A. 1.4 Calculations Definitions Emissions Factor: The amount of emissions associated with an given type of resource. Emissions factors can be found in the GRP. GWP: Global Warming Potential. This describes how much 6 P a g e

10 more global warming is associated with a particular GHG compared to the baseline CO2 (e.g. the GWP of CH4 is 21, which means each unit of CH4 causes 21 times as much global warming as CO2). The GWP of each of the six internationally recognized GHG s is listed in the GRP Electricity El ect r i ci Use t y(m W h) Emi s si onfact or(l bs/ M W h) 2,204.62(l bs/ met r i ct on) GW P Natural Gas FuelUse (M M Bt) u Emi s s i onfact or(grams/ M M Bt) u 1,000,000(grams/ met r i ct on) GW P HVAC, A/C and Refrigeration Installation Leakage [ Refrigerant Installed (kg) x Emission Factor (%) ] x GWP Operational Leakage [ Total Capacity of all Units (kg) x Emission Factor (%) ] x GWP 7 P a g e

11 1.4.5 Mobile Combustion (Vehicles) CO2 FuelUs e (Gal l ons) Emi s s i onfact or(kg/ Gal l on) 1,000(kg/ met r i ct on) GW P CH4 and N2O: Mileage (Miles ) Emission Factor (g / Mile ) 1,000,000 (g / metric ton) GWP Since the billing cycle for electricity and natural gas did not coincide with the first and last of the month it was necessary to pro-rate December and January consumption. In addition there was incomplete mileage data for some vehicles and that data was estimated. Lastly, some refrigerant data also had to be estimated. 8 P a g e

12 Section 2: Emissions 2.1 Total Emissions The results from data collection and calculations of resulting GHG emissions are given below. Electricity usage accounts for the highest percentage of total emissions, followed by natural gas, mobile combustion and refrigeration/ac respectively (see Table 2 below). Specific details regarding emissions from each area are given below in their own subsections. Total Emissions Source Amount Emissions (MT CO2e) % of Total Emissions Electricity 1, MWh % Natural Gas 56, CCF % Mobile Combustion 11, Gallons % Refrigerant & AC kg % Total Emissions 1, % Table 2.1: Summary of CO2e emissions by category 2.2 Scope 1 Emissions Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions, those that originate within the organizational boundaries of the company. These include emissions from natural gas, mobile combustion and HVAC/AC units Natural Gas 9 P a g e

13 Natural Gas Use and Emission Factors Facility Annual Natural Gas Purchases (CCF) Annual Natural Gas Consumption (MMBTU) CO 2 (kg/mmbtu) Emissions Factors CH 4 (g/mmbtu) N 20 (g/mmbtu) Williams, AZ 56, , Table 2.2: Natural gas use and emission factors Facility Calculating Indirect Emissions from Electricity Use Converting to CO 2-equivalent CO 2 emissions x = (MMBtu) (kg/mmbtu) (kg/mt) (mt CO 2) x 1 = (GWP) (metric tons CO 2e) Williams, AZ CH 4 emissions x = (MMBtu) (g/mmbtu) (mt/g) (mt CO 2) x 21 = 0.61 (GWP) (metric tons CO 2e) N 2 0 emissions x = (MMBtu) (g/mmbtu) (mt/g) (mt CO 2) x 310 =0.18 (GWP) (metric tons CO 2e) Natural Gas Emissions (MT CO 2e) Table 2.3: Natural gas use calculations and emissions 10 P a g e

14 2.2.2 Mobile Combustion Mobile Combustion and Emission Factors Annual Gasoline Usage (gallons) CO 2 (kg/gallon) Emissions Factors CH 4 (g/mile) N 20 (g/mile) 11, Table 2.4: Mobile combustion emission factors Calculating Emissions for CO2 Annual Gasoline Usage (gallons) CO 2 Emission Factor (kg/gallon) Conversion Formula Total Emissions (MT CO2) GWP Converting to CO2-equivalent (MT CO2e) 11, Gallons x Emission Factor 1000 (gallons) (kg/gallon) (kg/mt) Mobile CO 2 Emissions (MT CO 2e) Table 2.5: Mobile combustion CO2 calculations and emissions 11 P a g e

15 Calculating Emissions for CH4 Vehicle Type Total Mileage Emission Factor Conversion Formula Total Emissions (MT CH4) GWP Converting to CO2-equivalent (MT CO2e) Light Truck ,590 (2 vehicles) Mileage x Emission Factor 10 6 (miles) (g/mile) (g/mt) Light Truck ,953 (1 vehicle) Mileage x Emission Factor 10 6 (miles) (g/mile) (g/mt) Light Truck ,453 (1 vehicle).0152 Mileage x Emission Factor 10 6 (miles) (g/mile) (g/mt) Light Truck ,172 (1 vehicle).0147 Mileage x Emission Factor 10 6 (miles) (g/mile) (g/mt) Light Truck ,887 (3 vehicles).0163 Mileage x Emission Factor 10 6 (miles) (g/mile) (g/mt) Light Truck ,046 (3 vehicles).0163 Mileage x Emission Factor 10 6 (miles) (g/mile) (g/mt) Passenger Car ,482 (4 vehicles).0249 Mileage x Emission Factor 10 6 (miles) (g/mile) (g/mt) Mobile CH 4 Emissions (MT CO 2e) Table 2.6: Mobile combustion CH4 calculations and emissions 12 P a g e

16 Calculating Emissions for N2O Vehicle Type Total Mileage Emission Factor Conversion Formula Total Emissions (MT N20) GWP Converting to CO2-equivalent (MT CO2e) Light Truck ,590 (2 vehicles).0728 Mileage x Emission Factor 10 6 (miles) (g/mile) (g/mt) Light Truck ,953 (1 vehicle).0164 Mileage x Emission Factor 10 6 (miles) (g/mile) (g/mt) Light Truck ,453 (1 vehicle).0132 Mileage x Emission Factor 10 6 (miles) (g/mile) (g/mt) Light Truck ,172 (1 vehicle).0101 Mileage x Emission Factor 10 6 (miles) (g/mile) (g/mt) Light Truck ,887 (3 vehicles).0066 Mileage x Emission Factor 10 6 (miles) (g/mile) (g/mt) Light Truck ,046 (3 vehicles).0066 Mileage x Emission Factor 10 6 (miles) (g/mile) (g/mt) Passenger Car ,482 (4 vehicles).0393 Mileage x Emission Factor 10 6 (miles) (g/mile) (g/mt) Mobile N 2 0 emissions (MT CO 2e) Table 2.7: Mobile combustion N2O calculations and emissions Mobile Combustion Emissions Totals GHG Emissions (MT CO2e) CO CH N 2 O Total (MT CO 2e) Table 2.8: Summary of mobile combustion emissions HVAC, A/C and Refrigeration 13 P a g e

17 HVAC, A/C and Refrigerant and Emission Factors Stationary Type Category Installed (kg) Installation Emission Factor Installation Leakage (kg) Operational Capacity (kg) Operational Emission Factor Operational Leakage (kg) R-22 Residential & Comm. A/C Domestic Refrig. Stand- Alone Comm. Med. & Lg. Comm. Ref % % % % % % % % 0.00 Total Installed Leakage 0.19 Total Operational Leakage Total R-22 Leakage R-134A Residential & Comm. A/C Domestic Refrig. Stand- Alone Comm. Med. & Lg. Comm. Ref % % % % % % % % 0.70 Total Installed Leakage 0.00 Total Operational Leakage 2.37 Total R-134A Leakage 2.37 R-404A Residential & Comm. A/C % % P a g e

18 Domestic Refrig. Stand- Alone Comm. Med. & Lg. Comm. Ref % % % % % % 0.00 Total Installed Leakage 0.00 Total Operational Leakage 1.10 Total R-404A Leakage 1.10 R-410A Residential & Comm. A/C Domestic Refrig. Stand- Alone Comm. Med. & Lg. Comm. Ref % % % % % % % % 0.00 Total Installed Leakage 0.00 Total Operational Leakage 5.19 Total R-410A Leakage 5.19 Table 2.9: Stationary HVAC, A/C and refrigerant emissions 15 P a g e

19 Mobile Type Category Installed (kg) Installation Emission Factor Installation Leakage (kg) Operational Capacity (kg) Operational Emission Factor Operational Leakage (kg) Mobile % % 4.50 R-134A Total Installed Leakage 0.00 Total Operational Leakage 4.50 Total R-134 Leakage 4.50 Table 2.10: Mobile A/C emissions Calculating CO2e Emissions Type Total Leakage (kg) Total Leakage (MT) GWP Emissions (MT CO 2e) R R404A R410A R134A Total Refrigerant Emissions (MT CO 2e) Table 2.11: HVAC, A/C and refrigerant emissions summary 16 P a g e

20 2.3 Scope 2 Emissions Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions occurring outside the organizational boundaries of the company, which have been produced by activities occurring within the organizational boundaries of the company. For the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, the only scope 2 emissions are those from electricity consumption Electricity Use Electricity Use and Emission Factors Facility egrid Subregion Annual Electricity Purchases (MWh) CO 2 (lbs/mwh) Emissions Factors CH 4 (lbs/mwh) N 20 (lbs/mwh) Williams, AZ AZNM 1, Table 2.12: Electricity emission factors Facility Calculating Indirect Emissions from Electricity Use Converting to CO 2-equivalent CO 2 emissions x = (MWh) (lbs/mwh) (lbs/mt) (mt CO 2) x 1 = (GWP) (metric tons CO 2e) Williams, AZ CH 4 emissions x = (MWh) (lbs/mwh) (lbs/mt) (mt CO 2) x 21 =.25 (GWP) (metric tons CO 2e) N 2 0 emissions x = (MWh) (lbs/mwh) (lbs/mt) (mt CO 2) x 310 = 3.27 (GWP) (metric tons CO 2e) Electricity Emissions (MT CO 2e) Table 2.13: Electricity emissions summary 17 P a g e

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22 Section 3: Emissions Equivalents In an effort to illustrate what approximately 1,258 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) represents, it is necessary to translate it into terms that are more tangible. For simplicity and ease, the EPA provides a GHG Equivalencies Calculator available online at: Through the use of this estimation tool, we determined the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel s emissions for were equivalent to the annual GHG emissions of 224 passenger vehicles: consumption of 2,653 barrels of oil: or 6.2 railcars worth of coal. While there is not substantial evidence regarding other hotels GHG emissions, it is clear that the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel is making substantial progress towards more sustainable operations by continually lowering its annual GHG emissions. 19 P a g e

23 Section 4: Recommendations and Conclusions The Grand Canyon Hotel produced 1, metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions in. The bulk of emissions from the hotel are derived from electricity use, with the remainder coming from natural gas, mobile combustion, and refrigerant fugitive emissions respectively. During our data inventory analysis we estimated data where it was incomplete. For future GHG inventory reports, having more complete data would allow for a more accurate inventory. The majority of the recommendations set forth will be listed by category and are mainly in reference to improving record keeping for ease in future data collection for GHG verifications. Vehicles Maintain accurate logs of vehicle year, make, model, and vehicle I.D. number. - e.g Toyota Tacoma 3.4 L V6, 4x4, ID # 1210 Maintain accurate travel log with the following information: - Date - Beginning and ending trip mileage - Accurately record the amount of fuel consumed Accurately record beginning and ending year odometer mileage 20 P a g e

24 Refrigerants For the A/C and refrigeration unit inventory accurately account for the category, capacity, and refrigerant type When installing a refrigerant note the precise unit or type of unit of installation Maintain an annual log with dates and amounts of refrigerant is installed. - e.g. amount of fluid replaced in each unit and year In addition to the items above, there are other areas the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel could improve upon and likely see reduced greenhouse gas emissions. However, the proposed ideas will require some investment from the hotel and are simply recommendations to consider for future energy efficiencies. Miscellaneous Recommendations: Installation of motion sensors for lights in bathrooms, conference rooms, workout facility and any other rooms not in continuous use and do not have heavy traffic. Shut off main hotel entry way lighting during peak daylight hours. Perhaps the utilization of day timers for lights to come on and off. Christmas lighting event: Switch to more energy efficient lights (i.e. CFL, or LED). Adjust door thresholds to reduce energy loss via door gaps (i.e. better seals). 21 P a g e

25 Appendix A A Electricity Use 2008 Electricity Use and Emission Factors Facility egrid Subregion Annual Electricity Purchases (MWh) CO 2 (lbs/mwh) Emissions Factors CH 4 (lbs/mwh) N 20 (lbs/mwh) Williams, AZ AZNM Table A.1: Electricity Emission Factors for 2008 Facility Calculating Indirect Emissions from Electricity Use Converting to CO 2-equivalent CO 2 emissions x = (MWh) (lbs/mwh) (lbs/mt) (mt CO 2) x 1 = (GWP) (metric tons CO 2e) Williams, AZ CH 4 emissions N 2 0 emissions x = (MWh) (lbs/mwh) (lbs/mt) (mt CO 2) x = (MWh) (lbs/mwh) (lbs/mt) (mt CO 2) x 21 =.28 (GWP) (metric tons CO 2e) x 310 = 3.7 (GWP) (metric tons CO 2e) Electricity Emissions (MT CO 2e) Table A.2: Electricity emissions summary P a g e

26 A Electricity Use 2009 Electricity Use and Emission Factors Facility egrid Subregion Annual Electricity Purchases (MWh) CO 2 (lbs/mwh) Emissions Factors CH 4 (lbs/mwh) N 20 (lbs/mwh) Williams, AZ AZNM Table A.3: Electricity emission factors for 2009 Facility Calculating Indirect Emissions from Electricity Use Converting to CO 2-equivalent CO 2 emissions x = (MWh) (lbs/mwh) (lbs/mt) (mt CO 2) x 1 = (GWP) (metric tons CO 2e) Williams, AZ CH 4 emissions N 2 0 emissions x = (MWh) (lbs/mwh) (lbs/mt) (mt CO 2) x = (MWh) (lbs/mwh) (lbs/mt) (mt CO 2) x 21 =.23 (GWP) (metric tons CO 2e) x 310 = 3.01 (GWP) (metric tons CO 2e) Electricity Emissions (MT CO 2e) Table A.4: Electricity emission summary for P a g e

27 Appendix B Electricity usage was compared with hotel occupancy rates and temperature data collected from the National Climatic Data Center. Since mean daily temperature could not be acquired, we used daily high and low temperatures. These were averaged to arrive at a monthly mean high temperature and a monthly mean low temperature. Electricity, Occupancy and Temperature Data Month Electricity (MWh) Occupancy Monthly Mean Minimum Temperature Monthly Mean Maximum Temperature January % February % March % April % May % June % July % August % September % October % November % December % Table B.1: Electricity, Occupancy and Temperature Data 24 P a g e

28 The following are scatter plots comparing electricity usage with occupancy rates and temperature. Figure B.1: Electricity Usage and Occupancy Figure B.2: Electricity Usage and Mean Minimum Temperature 25 P a g e

29 Figure B.3: Electricity Usage and Mean Maximum Temperature And finally we have a correlation matrix for the data: Electricity Usage (MWh) Electricity Usage (MWh) Occupancy (%) Mean Minimum Temperature ( F) Mean Maximum Temperature ( F) Table B.2: Correlation Matrix for Electricity, Occupancy and Temperature Both the scatter plots and correlation matrix show us that there is almost no correlation between electricity usage and occupancy rates (the fitted line is nearly flat on the scatter plot and the correlation value is low). They also show us that there does seem to be a correlation between electricity usage and temperatures (decreasing line in the scatter plots and much higher correlation values). 26 P a g e

30 In laymen s terms, this means that temperature seems to be driving electricity usage rather than occupancy. The scatter plots clearly show that as temperatures decrease, electricity consumption increases. This is likely due to individual rooms having their heaters on when the temperatures are low, even if they are unoccupied. 27 P a g e