Impact Factors of Electricity Production and Use
Methods 5.0
Due to a data restriction, Field to Market is unable to post the electricity impact factors; however, we are able to present the data to interested reviewers.
In broad terms, electricity factors represent 27 energy grids in the United States, and include the cumulative energy demand and associated GHG emissions for electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. The electric grid selected is tied to the field location entered by a user.
In the FP v5, electricity impact factors are used by two farming operations:
Details
Electricity emissions are calculated based on regional grid mixes to ensure increased accuracy in estimating GHG emissions from electricity use in agricultural production. Given the variability in energy generation sources across the U.S., electricity emission factors are estimated for 27 U.S. subregions, using data from the EPA’s eGRID database for the latest reporting year (O. USEPA 2023). This approach ensures the electricity related emissions reflect regional energy supply characteristics, including the proportion of fossil fuel, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind and solar generation in each subregion.
To determine total electricity-related emissions, both direct emissions from fossil fuel combustion in power plants, and upstream emissions from fuel extraction, refining, processing and distribution, are considered. Direct emissions are sourced from EPA eGRID data, which provides CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions per MWh of electricity generated (USEPA 2023). Since electricity generation involves significant energy losses during fuel conversion, emission factors account for power plant efficiency and fuel-specific combustion characteristics.
In addition to direct emissions, upstream emissions associated with energy production and delivery are incorporated to capture the full life cycle impact of electricity use. These include GHG emissions from fuel extraction, refining, and distribution of each energy source (LEIF 2025; National Renewable Energy Laboratory 2012). Additionally, electricity losses occur during transmission and distribution (T&D), reducing the net electricity available for energy use applications. Regional T&D loss factors area applied to adjust the emission factors accordingly, ensuring that emissions reflect actual electricity delivered to agricultural operations (USEPA 2025).