Power stations. chemical plants. Paper plants. These are just a few of Idaho’s major greenhouse gas emitters.
Greenhouse gases emitted by humans are the primary driver of most observable changes in temperature, atmosphere and oceans that scientists have tracked over the past few decades, according to United Nations scientists. And these changes are already affecting Idaho.
In the United States, 27% of our emissions come from transportation, 25% from electrical power and 24% from industry, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. In Idaho, more than half of the state’s emissions come from transportation: 57%, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Large factories and other sites are required to report emissions information, which is then verified and collected by the EPA. About half of US emissions are reported by direct issuers. Using data from the EPA, here’s a list of some of the state’s largest emitters in 2019, the latest year for which verified data is available.
The data below is calculated in “CO2 equivalent” or CO2e. This means that emissions from each source are not all CO2. Instead, the EPA takes actual CO2 emissions and emissions of other greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, and caps their effects in a comparable amount of CO2 so that the emissions can be represented by a single number.
The North Idaho natural gas and steam power plant, owned by Kansas-based Tyr Energy, emitted 685,134 metric tons of carbon equivalent in 2019.
2. LANGLEY GULCH POWER STATION
This natural gas plant in New Plymouth, owned by Idaho Power, emitted 563,878 metric tons of carbon equivalent.
The Boise-based company also owns Plants Nos. 8 and 9 on this list.
In an email, spokesman Brad Bowlin said Idaho Power has an “active, successful, and voluntary goal of reducing carbon emissions intensity…of resources owned by our company.” The company is working to reduce its emissions by 35% below 2005 levels by 2025, and it aims to produce 100% clean energy by 2045, Bowlin said.
P4 Production, a subsidiary of Monsanto, now part of Germany’s Bayer, manufactures phosphorus “for use in herbicides, flame retardants, leavening agents, aviation fluids, soft drinks and other products. “, according to Bloomberg. The Soda Springs producer emitted 505,427 metric tons of carbon equivalent.
4, 6 & 7. BLENDED SUGAR
This Boise-based sugar producer has three plants in Idaho: in Nampa, Twin Falls and Paul. Each is on the list of top 10 emitters.
The Nampa mill emitted 340,143 metric tons, while the Twin Falls and Paul mills emitted 279,558 and 274,334 metric tons, respectively. The EPA notes that, at each facility, “some of the CO2 reported by that facility includes CO2 that is collected and later used on-site to make other products. This CO2 is not emitted to ambient air. .
The Spokane Paper Mill in Lewiston, which produces fabrics and paperboard, emitted 334,050 metric tons.
In an email, spokeswoman Shannon Myers told the Statesman that the company has reduced emissions by 8% since 2019. Before the end of the year, the company plans to establish “goals and plans to reduce emissions by an additional 30% by the end of the year. 2030. Myers added that more than 60% of the company’s energy comes from renewable sources and about 40% is self-generated. The company also reports its carbon emissions to outside groups, she said.
8. BENNETT MOUNTAIN ENERGY PROJECT
This natural gas-fired power plant owned by Idaho Power in Mountain Home emitted 185,834 metric tons.
9. EVANDER ANDREWS ELECTRICITY COMPLEX
This natural gas power plant near Mountain Home, which is also owned by Idaho Power, emitted 173,862 metric tons.
This Soda Springs phosphorus fertilizer company emitted 126,475 metric tons. The company is headquartered in Houston.
The Idaho statesman reached out to each of the companies on this list for comment. Unless otherwise noted, he received no comment.
Other major transmitters in the state include Boise-based JR Simplot Co.. Its Pocatello phosphate fertilizer plant emitted 124,683 metric tons. The fertilizer is primarily used for agriculture, turf and horticulture, while also being used for the fire retardant industry, spokesman Josh Jordan said in an email. The company has another plant, in Caldwell, which manufactures potato products.
“We recognize the need to reduce our carbon footprint,” Jordan said, noting that the company aims to reduce its global carbon emissions by “20% per tonne of product by 2030.”
Landfills can also emit a lot of greenhouse gases because the gas is a natural byproduct of decomposition. The Canyon County landfill, Pickles Butte Sanitary Landfill, Nampa, released 108,688 metric tons. The Ada County landfill in Boise issued 81,774.
The Ada County landfill has a gas capture system, where collected gases are turned into electricity or burned, spokeswoman Rebecca Weeks said in an email.
Canyon County Landfill is “in the process” of installing such a system, spokesman Joe Decker said in an email.
Micron’s semiconductor manufacturing facility in Boise, which is used for research and development, emitted 53,972 metric tons. The company has set “ambitious commitments” to have net-zero emissions in its operations and purchased power by 2050, spokeswoman Lynda Friesz Martin said in an email. With 2020 as a baseline, the company plans to reduce emissions from its operations by 42% by 2030.
WHAT ARE GREENHOUSE GASES AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?
The Earth absorbs heat from the sun and this heat is released in the form of radiation. Gases in the Earth’s atmosphere prevent some of this heat from escaping and return it to the surface. This heating, or greenhouse effect, is what makes life possible today. But too much of it will change — and change — the planet’s ecosystems and weather patterns, and it could have other, as yet unknown, effects.
WHO PRODUCES GREENHOUSE GASES?
Every American emits carbon when they drive to work in a gas-powered car. Emissions also come from shipping products to market, other forms of transportation, agriculture, industry, and residential heating and cooling. They also come from all over the world.
For more than 100 years, nearly all of the carbon emitted came from Europe and the United States, according to Our World in Data. But other regions have caught up. In 2017, 27% of global carbon emissions came from China and 6.8% from India. Fifteen percent came from the United States and 17% from Europe. Per capita, the United States still emits far more than India and China.
HOW IDAHO IS ALREADY AFFECTED
Most of the state has warmed between 1 and 2 degrees over the past century, according to the EPA. Snowpack levels in the high mountains of central Idaho are declining, which is tied to lower river flows during the summer. “Over the next few decades, rivers will be warmer, populations of several fish species may decline, forest fires may be more frequent, deserts may expand, and water may be less available for irrigation,” according to a 2016 EPA publication.
According to the National Weather Service, five of the 10 hottest years on record in the Boise area have occurred in the past decade. Seven of them have been in the past 20 years. This summer and last summer were the third and first hottest on record.