Monday, October 20

Information, Generation, Imagination

The EPA released news last Thursday that tracking power plant emissions is "just a few clicks of a mouse" away. The release explains Power Profiler and EGRID

I did some clicking of my own at their referenced sites: http://www.epa.gov/powerprofiler and http://www.epa.gov/egrid to see what they had to offer.

Power Profiler offers interesting insight into what our area's fuel mix for generating our power. You won't find any 'green' sources; but remember, this data is from 2005 - a little old for such an interactive tool. Also, the information is most specifically based on a national subregion scale. Further, the data only shows the rates for Progress Energy and it's uncertain if that includes Santee Cooper and SCE&G generation plants (if there are any).

It's interesting information, but I feel there should be more specific details available.

Thankfully, EGRID includes 2007 data and is more for the in-depth user who likes to work with spreadsheets. You may download the latest version (17MB) to your hard drive and work on excel files and view summary pdf files. The excel spreadsheets have a nice layout, but have drawbacks in cryptic abbreviated references such as state ID numbers, the 'prime mover type' and 'generator fuel' in the generation file.

Click on the graphic below to view a local selection from the generation table:

It's interesting to see that the Stone Container Florence Mill generates electricity by using a mixture of fuels: coal (23.7%), oil (9.3%), and gas (0.3%) with the majority ascertained from biomass (66.7%). It's also interesting to see that the majority of the plant is owned by CBS Corp. and General Electric.

So, these tools are quite useful if you have some time to dive into it and have some specific generation questions. But, be prepared to use your imagination to find answers.

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