This document summarizes notes from a brainstorming session to discuss issues that Coal Mine Methane/Abandoned Mine Methane projects face that was held at the 2022 Global Methane, Climate and Clean Air Forum on 27 September 2022.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in support of GMI, collaborated with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe to develop a tool to gather information and estimate annual methane emissions from underground coal mines. The Excel-based template simplifies collection of measurement data and provides equations that calculate total annual emissions for a single facility (i.e., underground coal mine). This template is intended to help companies better understand emissions from individual coal mines to identify mitigation options. It can also help governments refine their national-level emissions reporting to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), i.e., by providing a mechanism to support a Tier 3 approach for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. The template can be modified as appropriate; for example, changing from monthly data collection to a different frequency. It provides space to record additional information, such as from remote sensing campaigns.
July 2025: Version 1.3 was released to update column headings for clarity and a formula for calculating CO2 emissions from gas destroyed offsite. Specifically, headings on tabs 2 and 4 were updated to allow inputting date of well or shaft closure as well as to clarify that the data is to be collected monthly. On tab 7, a formula was adjusted to take into account information from the previous tab on whether the gas transported offsite is being destroyed or not.
Агентство по охране окружающей среды США при поддержке GMI в сотрудничестве с Европейской экономической комиссией ООН разработало инструмент для сбора информации и оценки ежегодных выбросов метана из подземных угольных шахт. Шаблон на основе Excel упрощает сбор данных измерений и предоставляет уравнения, позволяющие рассчитать общие годовые выбросы для одного объекта (например, подземной угольной шахты). Этот шаблон призван помочь компаниям лучше понять выбросы отдельных угольных шахт и определить варианты смягчения последствий. Это также может помочь правительствам усовершенствовать свою отчетность о выбросах на национальном уровне перед Межправительственной группой экспертов по изменению климата (МГЭИК), т. е. предоставив механизм для поддержки подхода уровня 3 для национальных кадастров парниковых газов. Шаблон можно изменить по мере необходимости; например, переход от ежемесячного сбора данных к другой частоте. Он предоставляет место для записи дополнительной информации, например, из кампаний дистанционного зондирования.
Translations:
The U.S. government provided key leadership to reduce barriers to the recovery and use of methane as a valuable energy source. The 2024 Accomplishments Report summarizes the contributions of the U.S. government in promoting methane capture and use projects and reducing emissions of methane internationally. Sector-specific activity highlights are also featured.
This tool converts methane (CH4) emissions to metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent (MTCO2e) and a variety of other measurement units and greenhouse gas (GHG) equivalencies. These abstract equivalencies are also translated into relatable terms, such as annual emissions from cars or households. The tool uses a global warming potential (GWP) value of 28 for methane.
NOTE: Calculations for conversions are approximate and should not be used for emission inventories or formal carbon emissions analysis.
The “Best Practice Guidance on Ventilation Air Methane (VAM) Mitigation” report, developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Group of Experts on Coal Mine Methane and Just Transition, sheds light on the urgency of tackling VAM emissions. It highlights the cost-effectiveness of VAM mitigation, noting that advanced technologies, such as Regenerative Thermal Oxidation (RTO), have been successfully deployed in large-scale, long-term projects, proving the technical viability of VAM mitigation.
Fact sheet that describes how GMI provides cost-free technical, policy, and programmatic methane mitigation support to Partner Countries.
Fact sheet that describes how GMI provides methane action in key industry sectors.
Anguil Environmental Systems engineers have successfully designed, installed, and are now operating methane extraction, destruction, and energy recovery systems at six sites in Shangxi province in China. With Anguil's Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers (RTO) design, no auxiliary energy is required for combustion if adequate incoming methane concentrations are maintained. Anguil recommended the use of RTO technology, equipped with hot gas bypass, to destroy the ventilation air methane emissions and some low concentration of Coal Mine Methane from the drainage pipes at the coal mining facility.
Colombia prepared a CMM Country Profile in 2019 that described the national circumstances and identified and categorized 30 key stakeholders in Colombia's CMM industry. The U.S. EPA then conducted a pre-feasibility study to explore the possibility of CMM capture and utilization at the Casa Blanca Mine and determined that onsite power generation was the most viable option for CMM use.
The Instrat coal mining database, established in 2021, aggregates annual data dating back to 2015 on methane emissions, coal extraction, and employment. The database provides location of coal deposits, active permits, open access intelligence for developers of mitigation projects, and a foundation for a proposed pricing system for methane emissions.