March 2024 The Shift e-newsletter

ecoinvent State Level Data Webinar | Policy Incentives for Carbon Intensity Cuts | Upcoming Training

Free Webinar:

State-level Agricultural Data: Collection and Effects on Life Cycle Assessment

DATE: April 25, 2024

TIME: 1pm-2pm ET

PRESENTER: Juanita Barrera, Senior Sustainability Analyst, EarthShift Global

DESCRIPTION:

In partnership with ecoinvent, EarthShift Global recently gathered data to build new datasets on grain corn (maize), soybeans, sweet corn, and potatoes based on the state in which the crop was grown. Gathering data on the state level was an important distinction because the differing agricultural practices (types and quantities fertilizers, pesticides and machinery, among other factors) can affect the environmental impacts.

The new ecoinvent datasets include a detailed description of the assumptions and calculations. This allows practitioners to use the data to trace how the calculations were developed and to make adjustments as appropriate.

In this webinar, a description of these datasets will be presented and we will discuss the effect of higher resolution data (state data level) on the LCA results.

PRESENTER BIO:

Juanita Barrera is a Senior Sustainability Analyst at EarthShift Global with extensive LCA experience across a range of industries, with particular expertise in agriculture, textiles, and consumer products.

Juanita’s background includes evaluation of alternatives to recovering chromic acid from the water used for the production process of tin-free steel, and potential water reuse in the production cycle, and many projects related to the calculation of the Global Warming Potential of Biogenic Carbon Flows. She has also worked on projects for quantifying impacts and benefits related to Land Use Change.

New Policy Incentives for Carbon Intensity Cuts:

Part 1, US

How Your Company Can Assess Section 45Q & 45V Tax Credit Opportunities

Life cycle metrics, LCAs needed for billions of $ in Inflation Reduction Act tax credits

Can your company benefit from Sections 45Q or 45V of the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) or Canadian Clean Fuel Regulation (CFR) programs? In this two-part series, we’ll provide a quick overview of what to expect in the two application processes; we’ll focus first on the US side, including a free tool to help determine if participation in Section 45 of the IRA is worthwhile for your enterprise.

Speaking at a recent EarthShift Global webinar, our founder and CEO Lise Laurin explained that the relevant sections of the wide-ranging IRA are largely focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and “getting us from where we are today to a lower-carbon future.” The act is part of a broader Federal initiative to drive 2030 economy wide GHG emissions to 40% below 2005 levels.

It includes a range of investments in alternative fuels, clean electricity production and storage, alternative vehicles, and home energy efficiency, but the most salient for many companies using fermentation, considering adding hydrogen production, or looking at air-capture of carbon dioxide will be Section 45Q, carbon sequestration and reuse, and Section 45V, production of hydrogen for industrial heat and transportation.

Part 2, Canada

How Your Company Can Assess Clean Fuel Regulation Opportunities

Life cycle metrics and LCA studies support innovative fuel pathways

In this, the second of a two-part series, we’ll provide a quick overview of the Canadian Clean Fuel Regulation (CFR) program, including what to expect in the application process, based on remarks by Nathan Ayer, EarthShift Global Director of Research. (For a review of obtaining US tax credits under Section 45Q and 45V of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), see part 1.)

The Canadian CFR initiative is “intended to incentivize innovation and adoption of clean technologies and expand the use of low carbon intensity fuels (LCIF) throughout the economy,” explained Nathan in a recent webinar.

The CFR as a whole, like many sections of the IRA, has a life cycle orientation and requires applicants to use specific tools and methods to conduct a life cycle assessment (LCA) of processes and emission rates in their fuel pathways, which in many cases must be critically reviewed or audited. Thus, organizations considering participation should do some up-front evaluation of their existing internal resources and confirm that the potential benefits justify the effort involved.