Risk Management Solutions & Opportunities

Carbon Emissions Reduction Projects

Black & Veatch stands at the fore of determining viable carbon emission reduction projects. This work includes identification, assessment, design, engineering and implementation. Clients can consider and choose from a variety of GHG reduction projects involving:

• process efficiency improvements;
• fuel switching and biomass supplementing;
• re-powering with cleaner technologies and fuels;
• adding low carbon and carbon-free capacity;
• demand side management;
• pre- and post-combustion capture;
• geologic sequestration; or
• investments in carbon sink and offset projects.

Carbon Emissions Reduction Credits and Offsets

Carbon credits and offsets continue gaining importance in the current energy marketplace. Black & Veatch serves as an experienced and trusted partner regarding generation, verification, certification, and registration for use in future regulatory reduction programs. This work involves:

• identifying creditable reduction projects;
• ensuring the accuracy of data and methodologies used to calculate baseline and actual emissions;
• assessing the adequacy of monitoring methodologies; and
• assisting in the emission reduction credit registration process.

The value of emissions reductions credits and offsets being considered for purchase can also be determined by methodic evaluations of the type and geographic location of the source reduction project, vintage and ownership of the credits, and baselines and monitoring emissions reductions to assess their potential marketability for trading inside and/or outside of the United States under various proposed regulatory regimes.

Plant Performance and Efficiency Improvements

Black & Veatch excels at analyzing plant performance and recommending efficiency improvements. Black & Veatch studies existing facilities and makes fact-based recommendations through:

• asset condition assessments
• energy audits; and
  • identifying potential improvements projects; such as
  • feedwater heaters or condensers’ performance improvements;
  • reducing air in-leakage;
  • improving combustion efficiency;
  • retrofitting combustion optimization systems;
  • draft system improvements; and/or
  • steam turbine retrofits.

Renewable Energy and Fuels

Although this aspect is new to many engineering companies, Black & Veatch has considerable experience in the renewable energy and fuel fields. “Renewables” use combustion or co-firing of “carbon neutral” biomass or bio-fuels to replace all or a portion of existing fossil-fuel combustion sources.

Power is generated or purchased from energy-sourced wind, solar, wave or other no-carbon sources. Black & Veatch uses proprietary models to provide a thorough analysis and assessment of cost-effective technologies and bio-fuels for a client’s specific application.

Technology Mapping

Black & Veatch maps technology through ongoing research, development and demonstration of low-carbon energy generation and emission reduction technologies.

Black & Veatch evaluates:

• costs;
• timing;
• reliability and operational constraints that ultimately will determine the commercial viability of new technologies; and
• the costs and timing involved in scaling up existing technologies for consideration in a client’s portfolio planning.

This evaluation can also include carbon capture and sequestration for existing coal-fueled facilities.

Adaptation Assessment and Planning

This aspect identifies operational sensitivity and vulnerability to disruptions from climate change effects, such as droughts, flooding, damage from coastal storms and surges, heat waves, etc. Black & Veatch evaluates the feasibility and effectiveness of potential infrastructure investments to conserve critical natural resources and engineering works to accommodate greater frequency and magnitude of extreme events.

Greenhouse Gasses (GHG) Reduction Services