EIA Releases 2004 Annual Report

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is pleased to announce the launch of the eleventh reporting cycle of the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program with the release of reporting forms and software for reporting data through 2004. We have posted the updated software that includes the 2004 electronic form on our Web site at http://www. eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ frntvrgg.html. We have also posted electronic copies of the paper reporting forms (Forms EIA-1605 and EIA-1605EZ) at this site. EIA will shortly mail the CD-ROM, the Electronic Form for Data Through 2004 and 2003 Public Use Database, and the paper forms to all previous reporters and individuals who have requested them. The CD-ROM also includes the 2003 Public Use Database of all non-confidential reports received by the Program to date, a querying tool for developing custom queries of the information in the database, and a library of documents and reporting tools, such as the spreadsheet versions of the recycling, urban forestry, and reforestation worksheets updated for 2004 reporting. All of the materials on the CD-ROM are also available on our web site.

If you need technical assistance in preparing your Form EIA-1605 or EIA-1605EZ, have any questions, or do not receive forms or a CD-ROM by early June, please contact us. Our Communications Center is open Monday through Friday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) and can be reached toll free at 1-800-803-5182 or by email at infoghg@eia.doe.gov.

Since the anthrax attacks in Fall 2001, all incoming mail to EIA has been diverted for sanitization, which has caused some delays. As a result, we encourage you to use electronic means (e-mail, fax) to submit reports. You can also upload the file for your report to a secure Internet site using secure hypertext transfer protocol (HTTPS) at https://idc.eia.doe.gov/upload/notice1605.jsp. This approach is recommended if you have designated your report as confidential. You will still need to send us a hard copy of your Certification Letter by mail or a commercial courier service.

July 5, 2005 Deadline for Reporting

Reports including greenhouse gas emission and reduction data through 2004 should be certified and submitted by July 5, 2005 to be included in the 2004 Public Use Database. We may be able to include some reports submitted after the deadline; however, our ability to grant extensions is limited by the need to meet our goal of publishing our annual report by January 2006. If you expect to have difficulty meeting this deadline, please contact the Communication Center at 1-800-803-5182 or infoghg@eia.doe.gov.

Use Final GHG Files!

In preparing your 2004 report, be sure you start with the final version of your most recent submission by using the *.ghg files in the GHG_Files folder of the CD-ROM or our web site (ftp://ftp.eia.doe.gov/ pub/oiaf/1605/cdrom/ghgfiles/), rather than updating a file left over from last year, which may not include all of the revisions made during the review process. Thank you!

Printouts Skip 1991 and 1992 Data

1991 and 1992 data will not print in the 2004 electronic version of the long form (Form EIA-1605). It was necessary to exclude data for these two years in all printed data tables, including emissions and reductions in Schedule II, Part III and Schedule III, to permit the printing of a time series that included 2003 and 2004 data.

Printouts for Paper Reporters

We recognize that, despite our efforts to make electronic reporting as simple as possible, many reporters still find it easier to file on paper. So we have mailed a printout of your 2003 report to all of you who have reported on the paper form since the 2000 reporting cycle. Please fill in the blank spaces with your 2004 data and return the printout to us with an updated certification.

DOE Continues Implementation of Enhanced 1605(b) Program

DOE and USDA Hold Guidelines Workshops

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently held workshops to solicit comments on the Interim Final General Guidelines and the Draft Technical Guidelines for the Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases [1605(b)] Program. The DOE workshop was held on April 26-27, 2005 in Arlington, Virginia and was attended by over 150 individuals, over 120 of whom represented the reporting community.
DOE has posted the agenda, a list of attendees, the presentation slides, and a transcript and audio recording of the proceedings on its Web site at http://www.pi.energy.gov/enhancingGHGregistry/ index.html.  USDA held a workshop on May 5, 2005 in Riverdale, Maryland to address technical and methodological issues associated with preparing estimates of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration from agriculture and forestry activities and reporting these emissions under DOE’s revised 1605(b) program. USDA invited four organizations to perform technical evaluations of the forestry and agriculture sections of the draft technical guidelines. Evaluators were asked to assess the accuracy, complexity, clarity, consistency, and comprehensiveness of the guidelines as applied to their operations. USDA also requested views on how to streamline and improve the usability of the guidelines. USDA is posting the results of these evaluations, as well as other information about the USDA workshop, on the following Web site: http://www.usda.gov/agency/oce/gcpo/ greenhousegasreporting.htm#Febworkshop.

DOE Extends Comment Period Until June 22

EIA Plans Roll-out of Draft Reporting Form in June

EIA to Develop Software and Calculation Tools

EIA is planning to develop a Web-based, electronic reporting system for reporting under the enhanced 1605(b) program. This will eliminate the need for distribution of software that reporters must install on their computers. Reporters will be able to key information directly into an EIA database, edit it, and hit the “submit” button when the report is complete – all with only a Web browser and an Internet connection.
EIA is also developing a series of calculation tools that will assist reporters in preparing their reports. The first of these tools will be the Simplified Emissions Inventory Tool (SEIT), which will enable reporters to prepare a preliminary estimate of emissions for the purposes of determining whether a reporter is eligible to report as a small emitter and identifying de minimis sources. Other tools will assist reporters calculating emissions and carbon storage for their emission inventories and the emissions reductions that they wish to report or register. The inventory tools will include modules for stationary combustion, mobile sources, and all of the other sources for which estimation methods are included in the draft Technical Guidelines. Likewise, the reduction tool will calculate reductions using the five methods approved by the Guidelines.