Technical Note:

Conversion of fuel data to MWh

CDP
[email protected]
www.cdp.net

Questions CC11.2, CC11.3, CC11.4, and CC11.5 of the information request ask for energy and fuel inputs
to be reported according to standardized units commonly used for measuring electricity consumption, i.e.:
MWh.
Energy and fuel inputs mean the energy content of:

Fuels before combustion in operations/assets within your reporting boundary; and

The amount of purchased energy inputs which include electricity, heat, steam and cooling for use
by those operations/assets.

Information about how to convert purchased energy inputs (electricity, heat, steam and cooling) to MWh is
provided in the guidance for CC11.2 and CC11.3. Cooling is included in this list because when cooling
services are purchased using a district system, the compressor system that produces the cooling may be
driven by either electricity or fossil fuel combustion.
This appendix provides guidance on how to convert fuel data to MWh.
Fuel can be measured in terms of:

Energy content e.g. in kilojoules (kJ), British thermal units (Btu) or therms;

Volume e.g. in m3 or liters; and

Mass e.g. in metric tonnes or short tons.

The way in which fuel data may be converted to MWh depends upon whether information about fuel is
expressed in terms of energy content, volume or mass and guidance on conversion for each measurement
is set out below.
For fuel inputs, we ask for the energy content of fuels prior to combustion.
Please include in your calculations the energy content of any biomass and self-produced fuels that you use
for stationary combustion. Self-produced fuels are fuels produced by assets or activities within your
reporting boundary that are combusted for energy generation. This is common in the oil and gas sector,
e.g. refinery fuel gas, associated gas, etc.
If you have your fuel data in energy units
If you have your fuel data in an energy unit, you can convert it to MWh using a conversion tool such as:
www.onlineconversion.com. Additionally, there is a conversion table listed in this guidance document.
If your fuel data is in units of mass
You will generally have your fuel in mass if it is a solid (e.g. coal, wood, waste) or in the case of certain
liquids (e.g. fuel oil).
1. If your fuel consumption is measured by mass you need to obtain the energy content of the fuel in
corresponding units, e.g. kJ/metric tonne, TJ/Gg. This is usually called the calorific value or heating
value. It may be obtained from your fuel supplier or you may have your own values generated by
your own tests. You may also refer to typical values published by reliable sources. In this note you
can find typical values as published and used by IPCC.
2. Multiply the fuel mass by the calorific value (or heating value) in the appropriate units i.e. if the fuel
data is in metric tonnes, then the calorific value must be expressed in energy units per metric
tonnes. This gives you the energy content of the fuel used.
3. Take the resulting figure and convert it to MWh using a conversion tool.

Worked example (Mass)

A company has consumed 1245345 tons of coal (lignite) and wishes to obtain an estimate of the
energy equivalent of that amount of coal. For this consumption it would be expected that analysis of
the calorific value of lignite would have been made and is available. However, for the sake of the
example the Calorific Value of lignite presented in Table 1 (below) is used.
Step 1 - Existent Data
Coal = 1245345 tonnes (t) of coal
Net Calorific Values (NCV) = 11.9 TJ/Gg
Expression to calculate Energy: Energy = Mass * NCV
Step 2 Analyzing the units of the parameters in the equation
Coal is expressed in metric tons and we want to obtain Energy in MWh. The NCV is given in TJ/Gg,
so we need to transform it to MWh/t. For that the following reasoning can be applied:
Convert TJ into MWh:
1 TJ = 1012 J = 277.778 MWh
[Note 1 MWh = 106 (M) * 1 (W=J/s) * 3600 (s) = 3.6 * 109 J, so you can know how many
MWh there are in 1TJ by dividing 1 TJ = 1012 J by 3.6 * 109 J that there are in 1 MWh]
Convert Gg into ton:
1 Gg = 109 g = 1000 t
[Note 1 ton = 1000 kg = 106 g, so 1 Gg = 109 g which divided by 106 g of one tonne
equals that 1 Gg = 1000 t]
Conversion of NCV:
11.9 TJ/Gg = 11.9 * 277.778/1000 t = 3.306 MWh/ton
Step 3 Calculate energy
Now that the conversion has been made, to calculate the energy content of the mass of coal is
straightforward, given the expression
Energy [MWh]= Mass [t] * NCV [MWh/t]
Energy [MWh] = 1245345 t * 3.306 MWh/ton = 4117111 MWh
Note 1: Step 2 could have been done differently. One could have transformed NCV as TJ/t and then
convert from TJ to MWh in a Step 4, after calculating the energy in step 3. See Worked example
(Liquid).
Note 2: As illustrated by this example, the critical factor is to be sure that the parameters we multiply
all have the same units to guarantee the homogeneity of the final result. This is usually called
Dimensional Analysis and you can learn more about it if you want here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimensional_analysis.

If your fuel data is a liquid expressed in units of volume

If your fuel is a liquid you might get your fuel data either as a mass or a volume. If you do get it as a volume
the calculation is entirely similar to the worked example for mass, with the exception that you need to
convert the volume of the fuel into a mass or have the NCV expressed in terms of volume. Usually, a step
will be required to convert mass in volume and this is done by using a conversion parameter known as
density that expresses the mass per a unit of volume (e.g. kg/m 3). You can find some density values in
Table 2, below.
Worked example (Volume; Liquid)
A company has consumed 4456 m 3 of Diesel and wishes to obtain an estimate of the energy
equivalent of that amount. In case the supplier has not given information about both the density of the
diesel and its NCV, the values in Table 1 and Table 2 could be used, as done in this example.
Step 1 - Existent Data
Diesel = 4 456 m3 of Diesel
Net Calorific Values (NCV) = 43 TJ/Gg
Diesel density = 0.84 kg/l (same as Distillate Fuel Oil N.o 1)
Expression to calculate Energy: Energy = Mass * NCV
Step 2 Convert volume into mass
Diesel = 4 456 m3 = 4 456 000 l
Mass of Diesel = Volume * Density
= 4 456 000 (l) * 0.84 (kg/l) = 3 743 040 kg = 3 743 t
Step 3 Calculate energy
Energy = Mass * NCV = 3 743 [t] * 43 [TJ/Gg] = 3 743 t * 43 TJ/(1000 [t])
= 160.949 [TJ]
Step 4 Convert TJ to MWh
1 TJ = 1012 J = 277.778 MWh, so
160.949 [TJ] = 277.778 [MWh/TJ]* 160.949 [TJ] = 44 708 MWh

If your fuel data is a gas expressed in units of volume

If your fuel is a gas expressed in volume, you can calculate energy by using a similar approach to the one
used for liquids. The main exception is that you will have to be particular careful related to the conditions
(pressure and temperature) you are measuring your volume of gas, because the density of gases can vary
widely depending on temperature and pressure1.

Densities of liquid will actually also vary, however, it can be approximated that for the range of usual ambient temperatures, this
variation is negligible. You can find a density calculator for common liquid compounds in here
http://www.enggcyclopedia.com/calculators/physical-properties/liquid-density/.

Worked example (Gas; Volume)

A company has bought 5000 m3 of Natural Gas and wishes to obtain an estimate of the energy
equivalent of that amount. To first start addressing this question, one needs to know what are the
conditions of this 5000 m3 of Natural Gas. Usually, this will refer to either Standard Temperature and
Pressure (STP), which is 0 oC and 100 kPa or to Normal Temperature and Pressure (NTP), which will
be 25 oC and 101.325 kPa.
Fortunately, there is a simple approximate relationship between the state of a gas and its density,
pressure and temperature, which is given by the ideal gas law
PV = nRT
You can learn more about it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideal_gas_law. We will not explain it in
detail. You should just remember that this can be used for the purpose of calculating density of gases
at different conditions of temperature and pressure.
Instead of using the equation you can use the following link
http://www.enggcyclopedia.com/calculators/physical-properties/gas-density/ for an online calculation
of gas density, based on certain characteristics such as its Molecular Weight, Compressibility,
Temperature and Pressure . In this site, if you define the compressibility of the gas as 1
(compressibility of an ideal gas) you will be using in practice the ideal gas law.
Natural Gas varies in composition, but is basically a mixture of Methane, Ethane, Water and with
other combustible gases of higher molecular weight, but in much smaller amounts. For this reason
you should contact your suppliers and ask them to provide you with information about the energy
density of the gas (kJ/m3) (or its NCV/HCV) and the molecular composition/molecular weight or its
density.
If you dont have this information, you may wish to find values in other sources information, such as in
the web. For instance, for the sake of this example we will use the following reference
http://www.roymech.co.uk/Useful_Tables/Matter/Prop_Gas.htm.

In here, Natural Gas is characterized as having a Molecular Weight of 19.5 and density of 0.8034
kg/m3 at NTP (25 oC, 1 atm). If we introduce this information in the gas calculator
http://www.enggcyclopedia.com/calculators/physical-properties/gas-density/ we can see we obtain a
density of 0.7971 kg/m3, which is close enough. Notice that this is considerable different from the
value provided in Table two as middle of the range (0.7).
Once you have the density of the Natural Gas, all the rest is similar to the example of calculating the
energy of a liquid.
Please note that just as density will vary significantly with the specific composition of the natural gas
which changes its molecular weight so will the NCV, which is determined in part by the individual
NCVs of the species that constitute the Natural Gas.

Step 1 - Existent Data

Natural Gas = 5 000 m 3 (NPT) of Natural Gas
Net Calorific Values (NCV) = 47 TJ/Gg
Natural Gas density (NPT) = 0.7971 kg/m 3
Expression to calculate Energy: Energy = Mass * NCV
Step 2 Convert volume into mass
Natural Gas = 5 000 m 3
Mass of Diesel = 0.7971*5000 = 3985.5 kg
Step 3 Calculate energy
Energy = Mass * NCV = 3.9855 [t] * 47 [TJ/Gg] = 3.9855 t * 47 TJ/(1000 [t])
= 0.18732 [TJ]
Step 4 Convert TJ to MWh
1 TJ = 1012 J = 277.778 MWh, so
0.18732 [TJ] = 277.778 [MWh/TJ]* 0.18732 [TJ] = 52.03 MWh

If you do not know the energy content of the fuel

If you cannot obtain a calorific value (or heating value) specific to the fuel you purchase, default heating
values may be used. Default heating values are reproduced from the GHG Protocols stationary combustion
Excel spreadsheet 3.1(1). Please note: These default values are meant only to provide guidance for users
who are developing their own values. Users are encouraged to develop their own values based on the
actual characteristics of the fuel being combusted. The GHG Protocol has produced a new tool version 4.0.
Its simpler and clearer user interface means that some reference data such as the figures below are no
longer visible.

Higher Heating
Values (HHV) /
Gross Calorific
Values (GCV) units
TJ/Gg

Lower Heating
Values (LHV) / Net
Calorific Values
(NCV) units TJ/Gg

Crude oil

44.53

42.3

Orimulsion

28.95

27.5

Natural Gas Liquids

46.53

44.2

Motor Gasoline

46.63

44.3

Aviation Gasoline

46.63

44.3

Jet Gasoline

46.63

44.3

Fuel Type

Crude oil &

derived
substances

Higher Heating
Values (HHV) /
Gross Calorific
Values (GCV) units
TJ/Gg

Lower Heating
Values (LHV) / Net
Calorific Values
(NCV) units TJ/Gg

Jet Kerosene

46.42

44.1

Other Kerosene

46.11

43.8

Shale oil

40.11

38.1

Gas/Diesel oil

45.26

43

Residual Fuel oil

42.53

40.4

Liquefied Petroleum Gases

49.79

47.3

Ethane

48.84

46.4

Naphtha

46.84

44.5

Bitumen

42.32

40.2

Lubricants

42.32

40.2

Petroleum coke

34.21

32.5

Refinery feedstocks

45.26

43

Refinery Gas

55.00

49.5

Paraffin waxes

42.32

40.2

White Spirit & SBP

42.32

40.2

Other petroleum products

42.32

40.2

Anthracite

28.11

26.7

Coking coal

29.68

28.2

Other bituminous coal

27.16

25.8

Sub-bituminous coal

19.89

18.9

Lignite

12.53

11.9

Oil shale and tar sands

9.37

8.9

Brown coal briquettes

21.79

20.7

Patent fuel

21.79

20.7

Coke oven coke & lignite coke

29.68

28.2

Gas coke

29.68

28.2

Coal tar

29.47

28

Gas works gas

43.00

38.7

Coke oven gas

43.00

38.7

Blast furnace gas

2.74

2.47

Fuel Type

Coal &
derived
substances

Higher Heating
Values (HHV) /
Gross Calorific
Values (GCV) units
TJ/Gg

Lower Heating
Values (LHV) / Net
Calorific Values
(NCV) units TJ/Gg

Oxygen steel furnace gas

7.84

7.06

Natural gas

Natural Gas

53.33

48

Nonbiomass
waste fuels

Municipal wastes (non-biomass fraction)

10.53

10

Industrial wastes

NA

NA

Waste oils

42.32

40.2

Peat

Peata

10.27

9.76

Biomass
fuels

Wood/Wood waste

16.42

15.6

Sulphite lyes (Black liquor)

12.42

11.8

Other primary solid biomass fuels

12.21

11.6

Charcoal

31.05

29.5

Biogasoline

28.42

27

Biodiesels

28.42

27

Other liquid biofuels

28.84

27.4

Landfill gasb

56.00

50.4

Sludge gasb

56.00

50.4

Other biogas

56.00

50.4

Municipal wastes (biomass fraction)

12.21

11.6

Fuel Type

Table 1

Source: 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. The IPCC values were originally
on a NCV (LHV) basis and have been converted to a GCV (HHV) basis. They have been published by the
World Resources Institute/World Business Council for Sustainable Development in their stationary
combustion calculation tool version 3.1(1)
*Value can be significantly affected by moisture content of fuel
**Value can be significantly affected by fraction of air, CO2, and moisture in gas.

Please note that the heating values in Table 1 are given in units of TJ/Gg, where the prefixes T and G stand
for tera and giga and correspond respectively to multiplication factors of 10 12 and 109. When using the
tabulated values for heating values, please ensure that your fuel use figures are in the correct units. You
can find below standard prefixes for the System International (SI) units of measure (source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_System_of_Units) .

Standard prefixes for the System International (SI) units of measure

Multiples

Fractions

Name

deca-

hecto-

kilo-

mega-

giga-

tera-

peta-

Symbol
Factor
Name
Symbol

da
101
decid

h
102
centic

k
103
millim

M
106
micro

G
109
nanon

T
1012
picop

P
1015
femtof

Factor

101

102

103

106

109

1012

1015

Gaseous (kg/m3)a,b

Liquid (kg/L)b

Gaseous (lb/ft3)a,b

Liquid (lb/gal)b

Range

Typical

Range

Range

Typical

Range

Typical

Natural gas

0.6-0.9

0.7

0.037-0.055

0.043

Natural gas (dry)

0.6-0.9

0.7

0.037-0.056

0.043

Methane

0.67

0.042

Ethane

1.3

0.079

Propane

1.9

0.12

Butane

2.5

0.16

Isobutane

2.5

0.16

n-Butane

2.5

0.16

Fuel Type

Typical

Coal-based fuels
Anthracite coal
Bituminous coal
Sub-bituminous coal
Lignite coal
Coal coke
Patent fuel
BKB
Natural gas-based fuelsc

Natural gas liquids (LNG)

0.42-0.54

0.47

3.5-4.5

3.9

Crude oil

0.7-0.9

0.8

5.8-7.5

6.7

Motor gasoline / petrol

0.73-0.76

0.74

6.1-6.3

6.2

Aviation gasoline

0.7-0.72

0.71

5.8-6.0

5.9

Distillate Oil

0.82-0.95

0.84

6.8-7.9

7.0

Distillate fuel oil No.1

0.82-0.85

0.84

6.8-7.1

7.0

Distillate fuel oil No.2

0.82-0.85

0.85

6.8-7.1

7.1

Distillate fuel oil No.4

0.91-0.95

0.93

7.6-7.9

7.8

Residual Oil

0.93-1.03

0.94

7.8-8.6

7.8

Residual fuel oil No.5

0.93-0.95

0.94

7.8-7.9

7.8

Petroleum-based fuels

Gaseous (kg/m3)a,b

Liquid (kg/L)b

Gaseous (lb/ft3)a,b

Liquid (lb/gal)b

Range

Range

Typical

Range

Range

Typical

Residual fuel oil No.6

0.89-1.01

0.94

7.4-8.5

7.8

Jet kerosene

0.76-0.83

0.79

6.3-6.9

6.6

Kerosene (other)

0.79-0.82

0.80

6.6-6.8

6.7

LPG

0.53-0.55

0.54

4.5-4.6

4.5

Naphtha

0.75-0.82

0.77

6.3-6.8

6.4

0.8-1.1

1.0

6.7-9.2

8.3

0.96-1.00

1.0

8.0-8.3

8.3

Fuel Type

Typical

Typical

Petroleum Coke

Asphalt / bitumen
Pitch
Lubricants
Waxes
Shale oil (liquid)
Oil shale
Other Fuels
Peat
Waste plastics
Tar
Waste tire derived fuels
Biomass
Wood (dry)
Wood (wet)
Fuelwood (approx. 20% moisture)
Black liquor
Landfill gas

0.67-1.2

0.9

Waste water treatment biogas

0.67-1.2

0.9

0.042-0.075

0.056

0.042-0.076

0.056

Biodiesel

0.96-1.00

0.85

6.9-7.2

7.0

Turpentine

0.87

7.2

Vegetable oils

0.96-1.00

0.90

7.4-7.5

7.5

Table 2
Source: World Resources Institute/World Business Council for Sustainable Development stationary
combustion calculation tool version 3.3(1)
a. Density values are highly sensitive to changes in temperature and pressure. Values indicated are based
on room temperature and standard atmospheric pressure.
b. Dry unless otherwise noted.
c. At room temperature and standard atmospheric pressure.
Reference:
Typical values are based on a compilation of commonly accepted sources such as US DOE/EIA, national
inventory reports to the UNFCCC and other sources.

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Other sources of information

You can find lots of useful information, namely on NCVs, density, emission factors, etc, in the national
inventories submitted to UNFCCC. Furthermore, these figures will be specific and more representative to
a
certain
country
and
year.
To
check
the
National
Inventory
Reports
see
http://unfccc.int/national_reports/annex_i_ghg_inventories/national_inventories_submissions/items/5888.
php .

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