Life Cycle Emissions Factors for Electricity Generation Technologies

Department of Energy data provides quartile estimates of greenhouse gas emissions for 14 electricity generation and storage technologies. It details life cycle emissions factors in grams of CO2e per kWh across stages like one-time upstream, ongoing combustion, and total. Literature estimates were compiled by the LCA Harmonization study.

Use Cases

• Compare total life cycle emissions factors across 14 technologies like coal, natural gas, and photovoltaic to benchmark environmental impact.
• Analyze quartile distributions of emissions for stages like ongoing combustion and one-time downstream to assess variability within technology categories.
• Model emissions reductions by substituting high-emission technologies (e.g., oil) with lower-emission ones (e.g., wind) using the provided g CO2e/kWh factors.

Strengths

• Covers 14 distinct electricity generation and storage technologies, including biopower, lithium-ion battery storage, and ocean energy.
• Provides quartile estimates for emissions factors across five specific life cycle stages, offering a detailed breakdown.
• Compiled from a harmonized literature review, documented in a supporting Department of Energy factsheet.

Limitations

• Sample data and specific row/column counts are unavailable, limiting pre-download assessment of dataset structure and size.
• Primary file formats are PDF and BIN, which may require specialized tools or conversion for quantitative analysis compared to tabular formats like CSV.
• The underlying literature estimates may have publication date ranges not specified, potentially affecting temporal representativeness.

Provenance

Source

Department of Energy

Collection Method

Literature estimates compiled by the LCA Harmonization study, as detailed in an accompanying factsheet.

Freshness

Last updated March 2026.