As population surges, Florida’s electric sector emissions drop Image By EPN Staff The electric industry’s shift to natural gas over the last two decades has pushed Florida’s carbon dioxide emissions from power plants down 23% – even as the Sunshine State’s population has surged by more than a third. Why it matters The state’s population growth – with an influx of new residents arriving from the north – has led to a significant jump in demand for electricity. But because the state is increasingly using natural gas rather than coal and oil to fuel its power plants, Florida has more than offset any expected pollution increases from its increased cars and trucks. Though natural gas still creates greenhouse gases, it burns cleaner and releases far less pollution than coal or oil, so the shift has helped to drive the efficiency gains. The bigger picture Florida is among the nation’s fastest growing states, now the third most populated after California and Texas. Other notable facts: Florida counted 22.4 million residents in 2022, a jump of more than 33% from the 16.7 million the state had in 2002. Electricity usage increased by 20% over that stretch, to about 250,000 gigawatt hours by 2022. Still, carbon dioxide emissions from the state’s electric power industry are down 23% in the period – from 121 million metric tons of CO2 released in 2002 to 92.7 million metric tons in 2022. Adjusted for population, that amounts to a 42% decrease – from 7.2 metric tons of CO2 per person in 2002 to 4.2 metric tons per capita 20 years on. More context More cars, trucks and buses on the state’s roadways have led to a 16.8% increase in carbon dioxide from the transportation sector, to 118 million metric tons of CO2 in 2022, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But that’s been offset by the 23% drop in CO2 emissions from electric plants, the federal data shows. The power plant efficiencies have caused Florida’s total energy-related CO2 emissions – primarily from vehicles and electricity production – to fall to 231 million metric tons in 2022, down 4.5% from 20 years earlier. An expanded Southwest pipeline has fed new electric power plants with low-cost natural gas, which power companies are increasingly using over coal-fired and oil-fired plants to heat the water that creates the steam to spin their electricity-making turbines. About 75% of Florida’s electricity is now fueled by natural gas, more than double the 31% seen in 2002. Only 7% of the Sunshine State’s electricity came from coal-fired and oil-fired plants in 2022, down from a combined 50% in 2002. That all translates into vastly reduced emissions. Nuclear power plants have held steady during that stretch, accounting for 13% of the state’s electricity generation, while solar power made up about 4% in 2022. And solar, for its part, is only expected to increase as an alternative source.
