BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Bexar County is expected to use a Department of Energy grant to better track greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) across its fleet and facilities.
“The $469,940 award will fund a two-phased approach to assess GHG emissions from county fleet and facilities and to develop and implement a long-term comprehensive framework for energy and emissions management,” Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai said in a statement.
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The county’s funding came from the DOE’s Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant, a program funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Bexar County Commissioners Court approved the funding in September 2023.
“By identifying an emissions baseline and establishing a framework for emissions reductions, we can more effectively reduce our carbon footprint and improve air quality in Bexar County,” Sakai said.
A renewed focus
DOE’s announcement comes as renewed focus is placed on the highest GHG-emitting sites across the United States.
Earlier this month, the CPS Energy-owned J.K. Spruce coal power plant was named one the top 50 worst polluters in the United States, a study conducted by Environment Texas’ research and policy arm said.
In 2022, the 1,444-megawatt Spruce plant released “seven million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions,” according to the study.
Texas is home to eight of the top 50 facilities emitting the most greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the US, the study said.
On a global scale, in 2020, the United States ranked second to China for GHG emissions, according to the EPA. Moreover, the energy sector is the largest source of human-caused GHG emissions, with buildings and cars acting as primary contributors.
GHG drivers in Bexar County
San Antonio’s transportation sector is the largest source of GHG emissions in Bexar County, according to an air quality expert with the Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG).
“We normally find that ozone levels are highest in the northwestern portions of Bexar County, but this may be different from the distribution of GHG emissions,” the expert said. “Our hope is that this project will help us understand this better.”
San Antonio’s Office of Sustainability 2023 annual report lists the transportation sector, with 35% of emissions, as a top pollutant in 2021. The office has set a goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
While the Office of Sustainability does track GHG emissions, its work will not be intersecting with the county’s grant.
“The Office of Sustainability is doing its own work in gathering and interpreting our city’s greenhouse gas emissions. We are working in conjunction with AACOG in updating our CAAP plan based on these findings and plan to release our updated plan in the summer of 2025,” Zabrina Rodriguez Rapozo, Climate Program Manager for the Office of Sustainability, said in a statement to KSAT.
In 2022, EPA data found transportation, industry and electricity production as top emitters. For context, according to the EPA, 60% of the electricity produced came from burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas.
However, the EPA has found emissions have trended down by just over 3% since 1990 due to a variety of factors, such as economic changes.