The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina is cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by curtailing coal-burning, buying more electric vehicles and curbing business travel, according to a recent environmental report.
Ameresco Federal Solutions operates an on-site cogeneration power plant that uses biomass such as wood chips to supply steam and eliminate the need for coal at the 310-square-mile complex next to the Georgia state line, Savannah River said in its Annual Site Environmental Report for 2022, released last week.
On the coal front, a team of representatives from DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control met throughout 2022 to draft a mutual vision for cleaning up the remaining ash and coal fines operable units at the complex.
Compared with 2008 baseline levels, Savannah River has decreased its direct greenhouse gas emissions by 79% and reduced its indirect emissions by about 91% according to the 270-page report. Direct emissions tend to stem from things that Savannah River owns or controls, such as electric supplies or fossil fuels used. Indirect emissions on the other hand can include employee travel and commuting.
Savannah River has reduced indirect emissions by efforts such as using webinars and conference calls to reduce business travel, according to the report. Of the 107 vehicles that the Site ordered, 62 were light-duty electric vehicles. SRS is increasing the federal charging infrastructure to add to the one charger onsite. Multiple new charging stations are in the works, according to the report.
SRS has monitored environmental conditions since the Site was built in the early 1950s and has published an Annual Site Environmental Report since 1959.
