Quantifying methane emissions

GTI Energy has completed an assessment of fugitive emissions from the natural gas system in commercial buildings for the California Energy Commission that quantifies total building emissions to help create a holistic picture of the total leakage from natural gas activities in California. The effort included field measurements of methane emission from commercial restaurants.

GTI Energy and partners, with DOE support, conducted nationwide field campaigns to measure methane emissions from new and vintage plastic, plastic-lined steel, and cast-iron pipes. The data collected allowed for further classification of pipeline emission categories to improve the EPA’s U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory and help operators prioritize the repair of leaks.

In addition, results of a nationwide study that determined emission factors for commercial and industrial natural gas customer meters indicated that existing emission factors used in the annual Greenhouse Gas Inventory were likely too low. The EPA is now using updated emission factors, based on this 2019 GTI Energy study, along with data from a 2009 OTD study.