Climate Change Agreements
Guidance Note 4 – CCA Energy and Carbon Conversion Factors
The purpose of this guidance note is to highlight the energy and carbon conversion factors that are used
in Climate Change Agreements.
Introduction
This document summarises the energy and carbon conversion factors and formula that must be used to
report on performance within a CCA.
Delivered Energy
Fossil and Renewable Fuels
The operator will need to supply the quantity of energy and fuels used at the target unit. The
consumption of electricity and natural gas can be taken directly from the utility bills. The use of other
fossil or renewable fuels should be calculated from the gross calorific value (GCV) provided by the
energy supplier. If this is unavailable the operator should use the GCV given for the particular fossil or
renewable fuel in Annex 11 of the '2012 Guidelines to Defra’s/DECC’s GHG conversion factors for
company reporting, found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2012-greenhouse-gas-conversion-factors-for-companyreporting.
A summary for the more commonly used fossil and renewable fuels is shown in Table 1 below.
Table 1 – Gross Calorific Values of Common Fossil and Renewable Fuels
Imported from Utility Companies
Gas Oil
Fuel Oil
Burning oil (kerosene or paraffin)
LPG1
LPG 2
Coal
Coke
Petrol
Wood chips
Wood Pellets
Biodiesel (Methyl Ester, first generation)
Biogas
Grass/ straw
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From
litres
litres
litres
litres
kg
tonnes
tonnes
litres
tonnes
tonnes
litres
M3
tonnes
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Multiply by
10.87
11.85
10.31
7.15
13.68
7,500
8,470
9.62
4,009
4,970
10.14
8.26
4,240
To
kWh
kWh
kWh
kWh
kWh
kWh
kWh
kWh
kWh
kWh
kWh
kWh
kWh
Oxygen, Nitrogen and Solid Carbon Dioxide Imports
Where oxygen is imported by a site for consumption in the eligible facility, an energy equivalent will be
attached to this oxygen if the eligible facility also contains plant used to generate oxygen. Operators
should contact us via the CCA helpdesk to agree an appropriate value of this energy equivalent.
Oxygen imported by sites for consumption in the eligible facility, where the eligible facility does not
include the plant for the production of oxygen, will be zero rated for energy.
Where liquid nitrogen or solid carbon dioxide (CO ) is imported to perform a cooling function in an
2
eligible facility, an energy equivalent will be attached to the imported liquid nitrogen or solid carbon
dioxide. Operators should contact us via the CCA helpdesk to agree an appropriate value of this energy
equivalent.
Liquid nitrogen or solid carbon dioxide imported to a site which is not used to perform a cooling
function will be zero rated for energy.
Steam
The energy value of Imported or exported steam must take into account the enthalpy of steam and the
efficiency of the system that generates it. The energy of imported or exported steam is calculated as:
Enthalpy of the steam
Efficiency of steam generation system
The effect of steam pressure must also be taken into account.
Primary Energy
Primary energy includes an allowance for the energy used in the production and distribution to the
point of consumption of secondary fuels such as electricity.
For Fossil and renewable fuels the primary energy is treated as being the same as the delivered energy
to site. For electricity imported from the grid or private sources and liquid nitrogen and oxygen the
delivered energy must be multiplied by 2.6 to obtain the primary energy.
Specific Energy Consumption (SEC)
To calculate the Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) of a target unit the net primary energy is first
calculated by using the relevant consumptions of the different fuels and their calorific values if
necessary. The primary energy factors for electricity and liquid nitrogen then need to be applied as
required.
Net Primary energy = (Total Primary Energy) – (Total Exported Primary Energy) –
(CHP Export Adjustment)
The CHP export adjustment is zero if there is no CHP on site.
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The SEC (Primary) can then be calculated as:
SEC (Primary) = Net Primary Energy
Total Production
Net Carbon Emitted
The total number of units of carbon emitted from a target facility during a target period is calculated by
multiplying the units of energy consumed of each fuel used by the relevant carbon emission factor.
Carbon emissions (kgC) = Fuel (kWh) * Carbon Emission Factor (kgCe/kWh)
The emission factors can be obtained from Annex 1 of the '2012 Guidelines to Defra’s/DECC’s GHG
conversion factors for company reporting, found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2012-greenhouse-gas-conversion-factors-for-companyreporting.
Carbon emission factors for common energy sources are detailed in table 2.
Table 2 – Carbon Conversion Factors for Common Energy Sources
Energy
Grid and renewable electricity
Natural gas
Gas oil
Heavy fuel oil
LPG
Coal
Coke
Ethane
Fuel conversion
factor kgCe/kWh
0.0546
0.0505
0.0758
0.0732
0.0585
0.0794
0.1170
0.0545
The Net Carbon Emitted is then calculated from the following:
Net Carbon Emitted = (Sum of Imported Carbon Emitted) – (Sum of Exported Carbon Emitted) –
(CHP Export Adjustment)
To calculate the Carbon Dioxide Emitted Equivalent (CO2e) the Carbon Emitted Equivalent (Ce) must be
multiplied by 44/12.
Specific Carbon Emitted
Specific carbon emitted is the quantity of carbon per unit of production.
Specific Carbon Emitted = Net Carbon Emitted (kgC)
Total Production
To obtain the Specific Carbon Dioxide Emitted (kgCO2) Specific Carbon Emitted should be multiplied by
44/12.
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