Is there a required source to obtain the GHG Emission Factors (such as Energy Star) to use for the calculations? I'm aware from the previous thread (https://leeduser.buildinggreen.com/forum/ghg-emissions-calculations-leed...) that the emissions are to be based on site, but the source of the emission factors is not defined.
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Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5907 thumbs up
July 26, 2024 - 9:43 am
It is defined in the LEED v4.1 Guide.
Greenhouse gas emissions factors per fuel source shall be determined as follows (the most recently available annual data shall be used unless otherwise indicated):
United States or Canada:
o Use U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Greenhouse Gas Factors for the most recently available year (see Energy Star Portfolio Manager Technical Reference: Greenhouse Gas Emissions or https://www.epa.gov/egrid/data-explorer).
For electricity, use indirect greenhouse gas emission factors per eGRID region in the U.S., and indirect greenhouse gas emission factors per province in Canada.
For fuel (including biomass), use direct GHG emissions factors per fuel source, as applicable.
For purchased heating or purchased chilled water, use indirect GHG emissions factors per fuel source.
OR
o Continental US (required if documenting Optimize Energy Performance Credit greenhouse gas emissions savings for Tier 2 new off-site renewables)
Electricity hourly emissions factors: Use hourly Cambium Levelized Long-Run Marginal Emission Rates published by NREL for the project’s Generation and Emission Assessment (GEA) region with characteristics as defined in the LEED Hourly Cambium, Demand Adjusted Energy Metrics Calculator. The hourly electricity consumption is multiplied by the hourly CO2e emissions factor to determine the hourly CO2e emissions.
Other Fuels: Use the total CO2e emissions factors that include both direct and indirect CO2e referenced in the LEED Hourly Cambium, Demand Adjusted Energy Metrics Calculator.
Note: These references account for both indirect and direct emissions (i.e. combustion + pre-combustion), leading to higher reported GHG emissions for fossil fuel and for the portion of eGRID electricity generated by fossil fuel).