LAEND: A Model for Multi-Objective Investment Optimisation of Residential Quarters Considering Costs and Environmental Impacts

Abstract

Renewable energy systems are especially challenging both in terms of planning and operation. Energy system models that take into account not only the costs but also a wide range of environmental impacts support holistic planning. In this way, burden-shifting caused by greenhouse gas mitigation can be identified and minimised at an early stage. The Life cycle Assessment based ENergy Decision support tool LAEND combines a multi-criteria optimising tool for energy system modelling and an integrated environmental assessment for the analysis of decentral systems. By a single or multi-objective optimisation, considering costs, environmental impact indicators as well as weighted impact indicator sets, the model enables the determination of optimal investment planning and dispatch of the analysed energy system. The application of LAEND to an exemplary residential quarter shows the benefit of the model regarding the identification of conflicting goals and of a system that compensates for the different objectives. The observed shift of environmental impacts from the use phase to the production phase of the renewable electricity generators points further to the importance of the integration of the entire life cycle.Energies 2020, 13, 614 2 of 22 detailed consideration. On the community level, less technical, administrative and economic resources for sustainable energy projects are available which hinders a successful transition. Decision support at the community level, therefore gains importance [8].With regard to climate impacts, renewable energies are often considered carbon-free in general and to emit less or no emissions to the air in the use phase (besides the burning of biomass) [9]. But the utilisation of renewable energies like e.g., wind and photovoltaics, lead to new conflicts of goals only partly implicated by storage needs: use of resources, especially the exploitation of rare earth materials, toxicities, land use and the loss of biodiversity might increase [10][11][12][13]. Additionally, the environmental impacts shift from the use phase (key emission phase of fossil energies) to the manufacturing phase of the energy converters (key emission phase of renewable energies and storages) [14].Thus, decision support considering the environmental impact of decentral energy systems gains importance and needs to cope with additional requirements in terms of:

Hybrid Multi-Criteria Method of Analyzing the Location of Distributed Renewable Energy Sources

“…Legal criteria X 5,1 planning documents for the power line X 5,2 planning documents for the investment area X 5, 3 the environmental decision for the power line X 5, 4 the environmental decision for the investment area…”

“…Growing concerns about the impact of the power system on the environment and depletion of non-renewable energy resources, as well as the growing public interest in the energy sector in general, have resulted in the inclusion of ecological and social aspects in the power system development planning. Considerations on the impact of energy fuels on the environment are currently being undertaken in the scientific literature [4].…”

Multi-Objective Energy System Modeling of the Rhenish Mining Area Minimizing Costs and Environmental Impacts

“…Impacts also shift from the use phase to the construction phase. [4], [5] Considering more environmental aspects besides the usual techno-economic aspects requires a multiobjective optimization of energy systems. In this study, this is achieved by combining an ESM with a life cycle assessment (LCA) of energy conversion technologies.…”

“…Several studies highlight the importance of integrating LCA data into ESMs and considering the entire range of efficient solutions, for example García-Gusano et al, Rauner & Budzinsiki [7], Tietze et al [5], Xu et al [8] or Junne et. al [9].…”

Considering Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Power System Expansion Planning for Europe and North Africa Using Multi-Objective Optimization

“…Applying multi-objective optimization, the authors showed that an environmentally sustainable system leads to increased deployment of VRE, particularly wind energy, compared to an unconstrained cost-optimal system based mainly on fossil fuels. Multi-objective optimization integrating costs and life cycle impacts was conducted by Tietze et al [17] and applied to an exemplary residential quarter. In several model runs that considered different impacts, the authors showed a number of different system configurations resulting from different weightings of environmental impacts and highlighted the importance of including the life cycle perspective in the design of energy systems.…”