US EditionEye in the sky: California spending $100M to track methane emissions with satellites
- California will soon begin using satellite technology, including the Tanager-1, which launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base last August, to track methane and other greenhouse gas emissions from sources like oil and gas operations, landfills, and livestock facilities.
- Recognizing methane as a major climate pollutant that warms the atmosphere at least 25 times more than CO2 and accounts for about one-fourth of global pollution, CARB conducted a survey from 2016-2018 that found that less than 1% of infrastructure accounted for up to 46% of California's total methane emissions.
- The first-in-the-nation project, contracted to Carbon Mapper, a Pasadena-based nonprofit, will cost the state government $100 million, sourced from California's cap-and-trade program, to purchase data collected by the satellites about methane plumes, with $95 million for satellite data and $5 million for education and local application.
- Tanager-1, built by San Francisco-based Planet Labs PBC using NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab technology, can scan approximately 50,000 square miles of the Earth's surface each day and detect emissions down to the level of individual facilities, adding to existing CARB regulations requiring leak inspections and fixes.
- CARB will manage a database and web portal to coordinate mitigation actions, with California officials expecting to begin receiving the data by this summer, providing more real-time information, as stated by CARB Chair Liane Randolph and Governor Gavin Newsom, while EPA rollbacks are raising concerns.
11 Articles
11 Articles
East Bay Times
siliconvalley.comCalifornia is spending $100 million to track methane emissions with satellites
California will soon start using satellite technology to track down methane and other greenhouse gas emissions that may otherwise go undetected from sites around the state, such as oil and gas operations, landfills and livestock facilities. The California Air Resources Board says the first-in-the-nation project will take about $100 million from the state budget to purchase data collected by the satellites about methane plumes. RELATED: East Bay …
San Diego Union Tribune
Eye in the sky: California spending $100M to track methane emissions with satellites
California will soon start using satellite technology to track down methane and other greenhouse gas emissions that may otherwise go undetected from sites around the state, such as oil and gas operations, landfills and livestock facilities. The California Air Resources Board says the first-in-the-nation project will take about $100 million from the state budget to purchase data collected by the satellites about methane plumes. “The effort provid…
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