2009 Energy Consumption
Long Island’s electricity and natural gas consumption keeps growing as well as our carbon emissions.
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Why is this important?
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that buildings, commercial and residential, are responsible for almost half (48%) of all energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. Greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), are widely accepted as the main contributing factors in global climate change. With 1,180 miles of shoreline, Long Island is uniquely disposed to sea level rise and other impacts of climate change. Recent modeling released by Architecture 2030, a leading organization studying the potential impacts of climate change, shows that a sea level rise of even one meter would have serious consequences for the U.S., leaving it vulnerable to catastrophic property and infrastructure loss with large population disruptions and economic hardships.
To help mitigate the potential impacts of climate change, New York State mandates are to:
- Reduce energy consumption 15% by 2015
- Reduce CO2 emissions 25% by 2025
- Generate 25% of the state’s energy from renewable sources by 2013
How are we doing?
The world’s leading climate scientists have issued warnings that we need to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to avoid catastrophic and irreversible effects of climate change. Many now believe that reductions of 80% below 1990 levels are needed by 2050 or even earlier.
New York State has several stated policy goals to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions, among them the Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring 25% of the state’s electricity to come from renewable fuels like solar and wind by 2013 and the 15 x 15 initiative with the goal to reduce electricity consumption 15% by 2015.
Unfortunately, we are neither on track to achieving such goals nor have we formulated clear and binding plans to do so.
Electricity Consumption
Data from the Long Island Power Authority shows that residential, commercial and industrial electricity consumption in 2007 increased 2.5% over the previous year, continuing its steady upward trend of 21% over the preceeding ten years. Residential electricity use has grown 27% while population grew less than 9% during the same time.
In order to achieve the state’s 15 x 15 goals, Long Island would need to curtail its annual electric consumption growth to less than 4/10 of one percent instead of the present 2.5%.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
To satisfy this growing hunger for electricity, the Island’s fossil fueled power plants pumped millions of tons of climate changing greenhouse gas emissions into the global atmosphere. According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data, despite reducing the rate of carbon dioxide emissions per kilowatt-hour slightly (4%), total CO2 emissions from Long Island’s power plants in 2005 (the most recent data available) increased by almost 90,000 tons to more than ten million (10,201,971) tons.
Instead of reducing CO2 emissions by about 2% a year to reach an 80% reduction by mid-century, Long Island’s power plants increased emissions of this greenhouse gas by about 1% from 2004 to 2005 and there is no plan in place that would allow us to reach the needed reductions.
Power Sources
While most of Long Island’s electricity is still produced on Long Island, a growing share of it is purchased and transported through long-distance transmission lines and undersea cables from off-Island power sources. In 2005, LIPA imported 37% of our electricity from off-Island sources; in 2007 imports made up 41% of our electric diet.
Long Island’s power plants are antiquated and inefficient in converting fuel into electricity but many have the capability to switch from oil to natural gas depending on fuel prices and other factors. In 2005 Long Island’s generators produced 59% of the electricity by burning oil, 35% came from natural gas, and 6% from waste-to-energy incinerators and other fossil sources.
Natural Gas
Long Island’s residential, commercial and industrial users bought almost 14% more natural gas (90,898,704 dekatherms) from National Grid in 2007 than in the prior year which resulted in 5,317,574 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. However, a considerable portion of that increase resulted from converting space heating equipment from oil to natural gas which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by almost a third based on the same energy input.
Renewable Energy
On the renewable energy front, there are about 1,400 solar roofs on Long Island with a total of about 10 MW of capacity. LIPA recently issued a request for proposals for 50 MW of solar electric panels. However, despite this step, total solar generation output over the next few years would amount to less than ½ of one percent of fossil-generated electricity, nowhere near state goals.