ACR has published for public comment version 3.0 of the Methodology for the Quantification, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions and Removals from Advanced Refrigeration Systems. The public comment period is now closed. 

ACR is updating the methodology to account for changes to U.S. regulation of refrigerants coming into effect on January 1, 2025, especially the U.S. EPA’s Rule Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons: Restrictions on the Use of Certain Hydrofluorocarbons under Subsection (i) of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020. ACR is also incorporating Errata and Clarifications, updating the performance standards, and making other appropriate modifications in version 3.0.

Key changes proposed in version 3.0 include the following:

• Updated default GWP values of baseline refrigerants to be applied in quantification of baseline emissions, based on the U.S. EPA finalized rule.
• Updated performance standards for projects based in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico using market penetration rates for low-GWP refrigerants.
• Updated annual amortized emission rates for eligible applications based on first-fill, annual, and disposal emission rates published in the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2022.

A full summary of changes from version 2.1 to public comment version 3.0 is published below.

The refrigerant industry has been moving to introduce advanced commercial refrigerant technologies for years, yet the adoption of these technologies has been slow. Such systems may deploy refrigerants such as hydrocarbons, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and hydrofluoroolefins as alternatives to commonly used hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerants.

The Methodology includes a framework to incentivize the increased uptake of available alternatives in commercial refrigeration.