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Chatham County 2023–24 greenhouse gas inventory: transportation largest emissions source; coal‑ash recycling plant contributes significantly to industrial total
Summary
A new county inventory shows transportation accounts for about 42% of county emissions, the industrial sector rose largely because of a coal‑ash recycling plant in Moncure, and natural carbon sinks still exceed gross emissions by a small margin.
Chatham County staff presented a greenhouse gas inventory for 2023–24 at the Board of Commissioners’ April 21 meeting, showing transportation as the single largest emissions sector and highlighting industrial sources that have driven recent increases.
County environmental staff used the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) ClearPath tool and publicly available data from utilities and federal and state agencies to develop the inventory. The analysis covered carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases expressed as CO2 equivalents and included human sources (transportation, residential, commercial, industrial, agriculture, waste) and natural carbon sinks such as forests and soils.
Key findings in the county presentation: - Transportation produced roughly 42% of the county’s 2024 emissions, the largest single sector by percentage. - Industrial emissions rose after 2019, driven in part by a coal‑ash recycling plant in Moncure that reports approximately 83,000 metric tons of annual emissions and accounts for about 35% of the county’s industrial emissions and about 8% of total county emissions, staff said. - Residential emissions declined slightly (about 8% since 2019); commercial emissions increased modestly; agriculture and waste together represent a small share (around 5% each). - The county’s natural carbon sinks remain a major factor. Using ICLEI’s Land Emissions and Removals tool, removals were estimated at about 1,039,000 metric tons in 2024, down roughly 10% from the previous inventory; when compared with gross emissions the county remained net positive by about 16,598 metric tons of CO2 equivalents in 2024.
Staff noted trends over time, including a COVID‑related drop in transportation emissions in 2020 and population growth (about 8% since 2020) that affects emissions. New local industrial developments and regional construction (including major projects referenced by staff) contributed to waste and industrial emissions increases in certain years.
The inventory uses utility and fuel supplier data (Duke Energy, Randolph EMC, Central Electric, Dominion Energy and local fuel resellers), EPA and NCDEQ reporting, and mobility data from Google Environmental Insights Explorer to estimate vehicle miles traveled.
Commissioners discussed the inventory’s implications for county planning. Several members urged focusing on transportation as a priority area for emissions reduction, and asked whether the ICLEI tools could be used for forecasting. Staff said ICLEI’s newer modules can incorporate forecasting and that the county maintains an ICLEI subscription and ClearPath datasets to support scenario analysis.
Staff committed to releasing the full written report in two to three weeks with detailed sector breakdowns, data sources and methodology. Commissioners requested follow‑up reports and scenario modeling so the county can assess potential effects of approved developments and planned industrial facilities on future emissions.
(Inventory methodology and underlying datasets are described in the county’s forthcoming full report.)
