Government Operations GHG Emissions 2021
As an appetizer for the soon to be published Government Operations GHG Emissions Inventory report, we've picked two graphs that pretty much summarize where the Town in all its services for the community emits most of their Greenhouse Gases. The Government Operations GHG Emissions Inventory - we really should come up with a good acronym for it; GO GHG-I - normally focuses on one year's data and compares it to the baseline year. Luckily the Town was able to provide energy use data for the past 5 years, which allows us to cover the years 2016 - 2020 in this initial GO GHG-I. The GO GHG-I only looks at emissions from government operations, which includes services like administration, wastewater treatment, street lighting, public spaces like the activity building, Parsonage, the EV charging station, and the Department of Public Works. Emissions by the community will be looked at as part of a different report (the Community GHG-I).
Town of Germantown Total Electricity Use per Building in kWh/year
The first graph looks only at electric use in Town operated buildings and three things are noticeable right away:
The Wastewater Treatment Plant and its pumps use significantly more electricity than any other building. More than every second kWh used in Town operations is used for wastewater treatment.
The Wastewater Treatment Plant used significantly less energy in 2018 and 2019. The reason: the system broke and had to be replaced. The new system is in operation since the end of 2019.
You have to squint a bit but all 2020 values are lower than previous years' usages. The reason: COVID-19. In retrospect it was good that we included the last 5 years and picked 2016 as the baseline year for future reference. 2020 alone would have had only little value to measuring our long-term progress in terms of GHG emissions.
Wastewater Treatment Plant Tour on March 29, 2021.
Town of Germantown Annual Government Operations GHG emissions by fuel type (tons)
The second graph we chose puts the first graph into perspective. While the WWTP uses more than 50% of the Town's electricity, electricity itself is a minor source of emissions compared to propane/heating oil and gasoline/diesel. The reason for the bump in 2018 Gasoline and Diesel consumption is currently unclear, but we are woking on finding the answer. What we did find out is that the gasoline/diesel is used by 4 heavy duty trucks, 2 light weight vehicles and 7 additional 4-wheelers likes backhoes, tractors, skidsteers and mowers.