Do you want to know the relationship between your electricity usage and the environment? Or the emissions rate of the electric power plant down the street? The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID) can help answer those questions, provide data to help businesses or homeowners understand the benefits of switching to cleaner energy sources, support policy makers, and inform environmental justice initiatives.
eGRID is a comprehensive public source of data on the environmental characteristics of almost all electric power generated in the U.S. The sector is the second largest producer of greenhouse gases (GHG), behind only transportation, and contributes nearly a quarter of total U.S. GHG emissions. The data come from electricity-generating plants that provide power to the electric grid and report data to the U.S. government. eGRID informs policymaking and helps address expanding needs of people, organizations, and communities to understand the source of their electricity and the environmental impact of their electricity usage.
For nearly 12 years, Abt has worked closely with EPA to develop eGRID, keep it up to date, and transform the website and accompanying tools to help people use and visualize accurate power and emissions data. Data reported via eGRID include resource mix for renewable and nonrenewable generation, heat input, and mass emissions of and emission rates for carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, methane, and nitrous oxide. Data are presented at the power plant level and aggregated to state, U.S. total, and three types of power grid regions.
Abt regularly updates eGRID data, transforming it into a powerful tool for tracking progress toward the U.S. government’s goal to achieve a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050.
In 2020, Abt worked with EPA to achieve an important milestone: updating eGRID data on an annual basis for the first time. This was achieved through innovative efforts to automate data analysis and data quality assurance. The automations cut the cost to develop each eGRID release from about $750K to under $100K. This left more resources available for innovation, interactive tools, and analytical enhancements.
This same year, we eliminated static data spreadsheets and used the extra resources to create the eGRID Data Explorer, dynamic and clickable maps for data visualization. This made the eGRID website more user-friendly, with a flexible interface and an emphasis on data visualization to enhance the user experience. In 2021, we began supporting EPA’s Power Profiler, making the data available by zip code and traceable to individual power plants. Then in 2022 we developed Power Plants & Neighboring Communities, which highlights key demographics and a community’s potential susceptibility to environmental exposure from power plants. This knowledge can be instrumental in environmental justice activities.
With accurate and precise data, eGRID has become a potent tool for informed decision-making. Annual data improves the timeliness of emissions accounting and emissions reduction policymaking. Governments, scholars, students, and others—including individual consumers—can use the data in a wide variety of ways. They can estimate indirect emissions from electricity purchases and develop greenhouse gas inventories. They can calculate carbon footprints. And they can estimate avoided emissions from programs and projects that reduce consumption of grid-supplied electricity. As the demand for cleaner sources of electricity like solar and wind grows, these tools provide important insights on the environmental impacts of people’s options.
eGRID data is used by:
- Various applications and programs within EPA such as the Household Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator, Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator and Power Plants and Neighboring Communities
- The California Air Resources Board, Climate Registry, Climate Action Reserve, and Greenhouse Gas Protocol in estimating emissions from electricity purchases in the U.S.
- Research institutions such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the Combined Heat and Power and Emissions Savings Calculator and National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the Distributed National Carbon Sequestration Database and Geographic Information System (NATCARB)
- Academic institutions such as University of California, Berkeley’s CoolClimate Carbon Footprint Maps
eGRID has thousands of users, and Abt-led improvements continue to enhance the user experience. From late 2022 to late 2023, eGRID users were more engaged on the site in terms of views and downloads, with page views increasing nearly 18 percent. And from 2021 to early 2024, usage of the eGRID Data Explorer has nearly doubled.
In late 2023, Abt started a new phase of work with EPA to develop the next generation of eGRID tools to support EPA’s new Low Emissions Electricity Program. We have been engaging stakeholders such as data analysts, corporations, students, and environmental justice communities to determine how they use eGRID data and what features will enhance the usability of eGRID for all.
In collaboration with EPA, we want to meet the growing demand for highly accurate emissions data—especially with spatial and temporal granularity – and the desire for user-friendly tools and easy-to-interpret visualizations. Communities and non-profits want to help educate and raise awareness and seek to tell a stronger story in their work.
Going forward, eGRID enhancements will support expanded education, awareness building, and community environmental justice priorities. Future updates will enhance data storytelling capabilities, make the data more dynamic for emerging regulatory and reporting frameworks, and ultimately position eGRID as the single source of truth for grid emissions reporting.