Evaluating Simplified Methods of Estimating Displaced Emissions in Electric Power Systems

North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Completed November 2004

Building on our 2003 work for the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), Synapse analyzed several non-modeling based methods of estimating emission reductions from energy efficiency and renewable energy.  Based on a review of numerous papers, Synapse identified three common methods of estimating emission reductions using simplifying assumptions about power system dynamics.  Synapse assessed the extent to which each of these methods was likely to provide an accurate and credible assessment of emission reductions.  The most promising method sought to identify the marginal generating unit(s) in the relevant system based on a load curve analysis.  The report identified several aspects of this method that need to be further investigated to determine how robust the method is.  Project completed in November 2004.