How do I fill CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) question 7.30.1 energy totals in megawatt hours if I burn coal and buy grid power?

List gross consumption in megawatt hours (MWh), not net: fuel excluding feedstock, purchased electricity, heat, steam, cooling and self-generated non-fuel renewables. Split fuel and purchased energy rows into renewable and non-renewable (self-generated non-fuel renewables are renewable only), and let the total row equal the rows above it. Pick a heating value for the fuel row only.

Which rows you get

A row appears for each energy activity you answered Yes to in question 7.30. The total energy consumption row always appears. Columns: heating value, MWh from renewable sources, MWh from non-renewable sources, total.

Rules from CDP's guidance

• Gross only. Do not deduct energy produced or exported.
• Fuel (excluding feedstock) includes all fuel consumed for energy inside your organisational boundary, bought or produced. If you lack exact data, you may estimate from fuel and energy purchase orders.
• Self-generated non-fuel renewable, such as rooftop solar, goes in its own row. Biofuels and biogas go in the fuel row.
• Renewable shares of purchased energy should rest on the same data sources as your Scope 2 emission factors in 7.7, following the market-based hierarchy.
• If you cannot split by carrier but know the total, enter the total.

Heating value

Choose lower heating value (LHV), higher heating value (HHV) or "Unable to confirm heating value" in the fuel row. In the other rows select "Unable to confirm". CDP says HHV is typical in the United States and Canada, and LHV elsewhere, so a fuel record from India is likely LHV. HHV figures are larger because they include the latent heat of water vapour.

Converting litres and tonnes

CDP points to its Technical Note "Conversion of fuel data to MWh". Use calorific values from your fuel supplier or a published source and keep the source with the figure.

Example: a plant with coal, grid power and rooftop solar

• Fuel (all non-renewable): 420 MWh.
• Purchased electricity: 560,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) = 560 MWh. If your Scope 2 source gives a 20 percent renewable share, 112 MWh renewable and 448 MWh non-renewable.
• Self-generated rooftop solar consumed: 60 MWh renewable.
• Total: 420 + 560 + 60 = 1,040 MWh. Renewable 112 + 60 = 172. Non-renewable 420 + 448 = 868. 172 + 868 = 1,040.

All figures, including the 20 percent share, are example numbers.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into monthly records, so the litres, kilowatt hours and months are in one place to copy from. Turning fuel into megawatt hours needs a calorific value from your fuel supplier or a published source, and rooftop solar generation needs your inverter or meter records.

• CDP 7.30.7: fuel by type and biofuel blends
• GCV or NCV in fuel calculations
• CDP 7.29: energy share of spend
• Free calculators

Sources: CDP, Full Corporate Questionnaire Module 7 reporting guidance, April 2025 edition

Last reviewed 2026-11-05. CDP revises its questionnaire and guidance every year. Check the version your customer sent you before you answer.