Long-Run Marginal CO2 Emission Rates for Contiguous U.S. Scenarios

Modeled estimates of long-run marginal CO2 emission rates (LRMER) for the contiguous United States under three future energy scenarios. It includes year-over-year data and a worksheet for calculating levelized LRMER values based on user inputs. The data was produced by the Department of Energy's Cambium project and is planned for annual updates.

Use Cases

• Estimate emissions induced or avoided by a long-term change in electrical demand using the long-run marginal CO2 emission rates (LRMER).
• Compare projected grid evolution and emission impacts across three future scenarios: Mid-case, High Renewable Cost, and Low Renewable Cost.
• Calculate levelized long-run marginal emission rates for specific projects using the dedicated worksheet and user-provided inputs.

Strengths

• Covers the contiguous United States, providing national-scale emission rate estimates.
• Includes three distinct future scenarios for comparative analysis.
• Data is planned for annual updates, as indicated in the description.

Limitations

• The dataset has been superseded by a newer version, indicating potential staleness.
• Specific data dimensions like row count, column count, and file sizes are unknown.
• Primary data is embedded in workbook files, which may require specific software for full analysis.

Provenance

Source

Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Cambium project.

Collection Method

Modeled estimates from the Standard Scenarios 2020 project using tools like ReEDS and PLEXOS.

Time Range

Projected future years, based on 2020 Standard Scenarios.

Freshness

Planned for annual updates; last updated March 2026.

Geography

Contiguous United States.