Resources for Environmental Impacts

This page provides access to environmental impact case studies, displaced emissions methodologies and tools, and life-cycle assessment. These resources examine the environmental impacts and benefits that can be expected from the adoption of renewable energy and energy efficiency policies and programs. We provide these resources for state- and local-level energy analysts, officials, and decision makers who are interested in requesting help from the Technical Assistance Project.

Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.

• Emissions and Generation Resource Integrated Database

  Provides a comprehensive inventory of environmental attributes of electric power systems. The preeminent source of air emissions data for the electric power sector, eGRID is based on available plant-specific data for all U.S. electricity-generating plants that provide power to the electric grid and report data to the U.S. government. eGRID contains air emissions data for nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and mercury.

• Energy Efficiency Benefits Calculator

  Demonstrates to customers, utilities, and society the benefits of implementing energy efficiency programs.

• Landfill Gas Energy Calculator

  Estimates direct, avoided, and total greenhouse gas reductions as well as environmental and energy benefits for a landfill gas energy (LFGE) project.

• Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model

  Evaluates energy and emissions impacts of advanced vehicle technologies and new transportation fuels, tracking the fuel cycle from wells to wheels and the vehicle cycle through material recovery and vehicle disposal.

• Wind Energy and Air Emission Reduction Benefits: A Primer (PDF 735 KB)

  Provides a summary, which is written for a general audience, of the impact of wind energy development on various air pollutants.

• Clean Energy and Air Quality Projects in the States

  Highlights DOE's Clean and Air Quality Integration Initiative, which sponsors pilot projects in the states and provides analytic assistance, training, and outreach. This site provides short descriptions of a number of ongoing projects, as well as fact sheets that highlight examples of completed projects that DOE funded as partnerships with states to use EERE technologies to improve air quality in their regions.