Overview of Emissions Data
Table 2.1 shows a summary of the information obtained for this report for the 189 fossil fuel-based power stations in Canada for year 2005. Data for electricity generation were only available for 91 of 189 facilities, as indicated in the table footnote. However, all 189 facilities operated in 2005, with each plant reporting emissions of at least one of the pollutants under consideration in this report.
The 2005 national average plant capacity factor was estimated at 0.53. It should be borne in mind that in Canada, fossil-fueled power plants are often used for back-up or for electricity supply during peak times. For this report the category of “other fuels” was introduced and accounted for 2% of the total generated electricity considered in this report; the main fuel in this category was diesel, mostly used in relatively small internal combustion engines.
According to Statistics Canada [9] the total generating capacity of thermal plants including steam, internal combustion and combustion turbine in the utility sector (private and public) was 32,098 MW for Canada in 2005. This figure suggests that the coverage of this report was around 95% (Table 2.1). In terms of actual electricity generated from the same sector, the datum given by Statistics Canada [9] was 135,643 GW-h, which is virtually identical to the value obtained in this report. The installed capacity of the plants for which the electricity generation data could not be obtained from public information represents only 3.7% of the total installed capacity of all the plants considered for this report.
Total CO2 emissions from the 70 plants that reported to the GHGRP for year 2005 were 121,282 kt, and information found in corporate documentation for two other plants that did not report to the GHGRP for 2005 added only 17 kt, whereas the national inventory reports 118,800 kt [22], a 2% difference.
Of the 25 plants (with NAICS code 221112) that reported mercury (Hg) emissions in 2005, 23 also reported in 2002. Of these 23 plants, 10 reported increases in mercury emissions from 2002 to 2005, 12 reported reductions and one reported no change.
Emissions of CH4 and N2O, as well as of PM10 and PM2.5, were not available for the 2004 NAPPAE report, but are included in this edition in order to start a record for future analysis.