Dude, Where's my wind?

Does this...                                                Equal this....

 

[Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images]                                        [Photo Courtesy of FPL Energy]

The Tampa Bay Rays decided to offset 7 games worth of emissions from the voracious Trop, which devours some 62,000 kilowatt hours of electricity on a game day -- enough to power the average Progress Energy household for more than four years. Plus, the Rays decided to offset the emissions from all the fans traveling to and from opening day, and the annual commutes of its 140 staffers.

So how much wind energy does that amount to? The Tampa Bay Rays bared their carbon footprint to the St. Petersburg Times -- and in the process found out they hadn't bought enough offsets to cover their carbon dioxide emissions.

As it turned out, the Oregon-based Bonneville Environmental Foundation had a typo in their formula, having dropped a crucial zero. The Rays' staffers commute about 1,050,000 miles a year -- not 105,000.

(That's 140 employees multiplied by a 30 mile daily commute for 250 work days. To get the carbon footprint, divide by 21.4, which is EPA's average mileage. Then multiply by 19.564, which is the pounds of carbon dioxide created by burning one gallon of gasoline.)

I'd like to take credit for finding the mistake, but truth be told it was discovered during a conversation with Patrick Nye, Bonneville's vice president of sales. He patiently walked me through the lengthy formula to help me figure out why I came up with a different total. My own formula had an error, which he helped correct. When he noticed his mistake, he immediately said the Rays would be provided with the additional needed offsets. He sent me an email the next day to say that the Rays had the new offsets they needed.

Nye also said that Bonneville would have would have rectified the mistake whether or not he'd been on the phone with a reporter when he discovered the mistake. He said the mistake might well have turned up anyway during a routine review of the purchase scheduled to take place later this year.

The Rays had already agreed to audit their offset purchase at the end of the year, and purchase more offsets if the Trop's actual electricity use exceeded the estimate, or if more cars traveled to the game than were expected, said Rays spokeswoman Melanie Lenz. The Rays won't expect a refund if the Trop uses less power than estimated.

If you're really nerdy, and you're wondering why Florida's carbon dioxide per megawatt hour produces 1,328 pounds of CO2, while the wind credits offset 1,500 pounds of CO2, here's the reason: Florida has more natural gas and nuclear power in the mix than the states in the West, Midwest and Texas where the wind projects are located, Nye explained. Those states rely more on coal, which is higher and carbon. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation maintains some standard estimates, depending on region. The calculations also take into account the time of day wind is likely to be most productive, and what kind of power plants typically operate at that hour, Nye explained.

If you're even more nerdy, or if you're skeptical of offsets and want peek behind the curtain, here's the formula:

The Rays' CARBON FOOTPRINT:
((62.042 megawatt hours of electricity the Trop uses during a 24-hour period that includes a game * 7 games) * 1,328 estimated pounds of carbon dioxide emitted per megawatt hour) + (((11,500 cars carrying fans * 30 mile round trip) + ((140 employees * 30 miles round trip commute)* 250 work days)) / 21.4 EPA average mileage) *19.564 pounds of carbon dioxide = 1,852,059 pounds of CO2

OFFSET PURCHASE:
(372 green tags to offset the power use of the Trop for 6 games  + 210 green tags to offset the Trop power use and fan commutes on Opening Day + 653 green tags for employee commutes) * 1,500 pounds of carbon dioxide avoided for each megawatt hour by displacing the need to burn fossil fuels = 1,852,500 pounds of CO2 offset

-Asjylyn Loder, Times Staff Writer

Comments

[MarineCorpsVet]

What a bunch of PC crap. What are the "green tags" and what do they ACTUALLY purchase? I mean besides a bunch of feel-good idiocy. I think Patrick Nye has fallen for a bunch of wind. The wind coming from Al Gore. How much did you fools pay for all this, anyway?