Nevada Statewide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Projections
Nevada Statewide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Projections, 1990 to 2030
Total Nevada emissions have increased 25 percent since 1990 but have decreased 27 percent from the
2005 peak. In general, a correlation exists between population growth and GHG emissions. For
example, the increase in GHG emissions from 1990 to 2005 closely follows the Nevada's population
growth during the same period. However, disregarding changes in population, large changes in GHG
emissions can also occur as a result of changes in production technologies or methodologies that release
GHGs. For example, the large decline in GHG emissions after 2005 resulted from the retirement of
Mohave Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant. A similar situation, though with far less impact,
occurred more recently in the waste management sector. With the installation of landfill-gas-to-energy
technology (a process which converts CH 4 biogas into electricity) at Nevada's largest landfill, emissions in
the sector were reduced by more than 500,000 MTCO2eq (a nearly 22 percent decrease in emissions).
Table ES-1 provides a sector-by-sector summary of GHG emissions in Nevada for select years from 1990
to 2013.
Table ES-1: Nevada Historical Emissions by Sector, MMTCO2eq
Sector
Electricity Generation
Transportation
1990 1995 2000
16.855 18.267 24.771
9.807 11.967 15.091
2005
26.213
17.226
2010 2011
16.858 14.190 14.665 15.144
14.112 13.502 14.057 14.492
2012
2013
Residential, Commercial,
and Industrial
Industrial Processes
4.441 5.848 5.987 6.819
6.880
6.037 6.025 6.807
1.214 1.556 2.298 2.573 3.230 3.403
0.749 1.003 1.384 1.808 2.144 2.209
1.484 1.550 1.642 1.636 1.558
0.412 0.493 0.593 0.739 0.785
-5.851 -8.073 -0.635 3.349 -6.121
34.962 40.684 51.765 60.362 45.567
3.425 3.550
2.136
1.751
1.570
1.563
1.436
0.855 0.860
Waste Management
Agriculture
Fossil Fuel Industry
Forestry
Total Gross Emissions*
Total Net Emissions
*
0.849
-2.183 -0.329 -4.788
41.759 42.726 44.039
29.110 32.612 51.130 60.362 39.446 39.575 42.397 39.251
Gross emissions only account for the forestry sector on years when it is a source of GHG emissions
Emissions were projected to the year 2030. These emissions projections consider estimates of future
emissions as well as known changes to a sector. Figure ES-2 shows Nevada's GHG emissions from 1990
to 2030 with a dashed vertical line separating where the historical period ends and the projections
begin. Between 2014 and 2030 the transportation sector is expected to become the largest source of
GHG emissions in the state. Total emissions statewide will remain relatively flat between 2013 and 2030
where emissions are projected to increase by less than 1 MMTCO2eq. This is due, in part, because as
Nevada continues to move away from coal-fired electricity generation, emissions in the electricity
generation sector will continue to decline.
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