LCA of renewable energy for electricity generation systems—A review

Varun, _; Bhat, I.K.; Prakash, Ravi

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2008.08.004

Cited by 451 publications

(138 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…LCA is a prevailing tool when analyzing renewable energy systems for environmental impacts [6] and it has its principles, framework and requirements defined and explained in the recently refined ISO standards, ISO 14040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006.…”

Section: Methodology and Case Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

LCA of Local Bio-chp Fuelled Greeenhouses Versus Mediterranean Open Fiel Tomatoes for Consumption in Northern Scandinavia

2017

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Tomatoes are a commonly used product in the Scandinavian countries, where locally grown tomatoes generally have to be cultivated in greenhouses, heated for most part of the year. Tomatoes imported from the Mediterranean area will not need heated greenhouses, but are transported a longer distance. Earlier studies have shown imported tomatoes over long distances are environmentally preferable when compared to tomatoes produced in greenhouses. In this study, tomatoes for the Trøndelag market in Norway locally grown in greenhouses with heat from biofuelled CHP generation have been studied using life cycle assessment (LCA). An LCA model for the biofuel heated greenhouse tomatoes was created and compared to a model of field grown tomatoes in Spain. In a sensitivity analysis a fossil energy scenario for the greenhouse tomatoes was studied. The biofuelled greenhouse tomatoes was found to be better in all studied life cycle impact categories compared to the long-distance transported field grown tomatoes. The scenario with fossil energy to the greenhouse give much higher impacts compared to the long distance transported tomatoes in most categories studied. A shift towards more renewable energy systems is one important task for a more sustainable agriculture.

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Section: Methodology and Case Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

LCA of Local Bio-chp Fuelled Greeenhouses Versus Mediterranean Open Fiel Tomatoes for Consumption in Northern Scandinavia

2017

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“…Based on IOA, emission factors were estimated on the order of 30-40 kg CO 2 -eq/MWh [47], thus providing higher values than similar studies using PCA. Emission factors reported in previous review studies were in the range of 5-35 kg CO 2 -eq/MWh [3,4,8,15,[44][45][46]53,[58][59][60]68]. Most LCA studies provided emission factors for NO x and SO 2 , ranging from 0.02-0.06 kg NO x /MWh and 0.02-0.04 kg SO 2 /MWh with emissions mainly depending on the electricity mix used for 13 manufacturing.…”

Section: Windmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Today, 68% of the energy utilized worldwide originates from fossil fuels (i.e., coal, natural gas and oil), with electricity generation being responsible for 40% of global CO 2 emissions [1]. Emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), such as CO 2 and CH 4 , from energy generation have been addressed in numerous studies (e.g., [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]), which often play a key role in developing GHG mitigation strategies for the energy sector [9]. However, the extent to which these studies provide accurate, robust and comparable information can be questioned with respect to their usefulness for long-term decision-making.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment (LCA) of electricity generation technologies: Overview, comparability and limitations

Turconi

Boldrin

Astrup

2013

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

615

300

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Electricity generation is a key contributor to global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), NO x and SO 2 and their related environmental impact. A critical review of 167 case studies involving the life cycle assessment (LCA) of electricity generation based on hard coal, lignite, natural gas, oil, nuclear, biomass, hydroelectric, solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind was carried out to identify ranges of emission data for GHG, NO x and SO 2 related to individual technologies. It was shown that GHG emissions could not be used as a single indicator to represent the environmental performance of a system or technology. Emission data were evaluated with respect to three life cycle phases (fuel provision, plant operation, and infrastructure). Direct emissions from plant operation represented the majority of the life cycle emissions for fossil fuel technologies, whereas fuel provision represented the largest contribution for biomass technologies (71% for GHG, 54% for NO x and 61% for SO 2 ) and nuclear power (60% for GHG, 82% for NO x and 92% for SO 2 ); infrastructures provided the highest impact for renewables. These data indicated that all three phases should be included for completeness and to avoid problem shifting. The most critical methodological aspects in relation to LCA studies were identified as follows: definition of the functional unit, the LCA method employed (e.g., IOA, PCA and hybrid), the emission allocation principle and/or system boundary expansion. The most important technological aspects were identified as follows: the energy recovery efficiency and the flue gas cleaning system for fossil fuel technologies; the electricity mix used during both the manufacturing and the construction phases for nuclear and renewable technologies; and the type, quality and origin of feedstock, as well as the amount and type of co-products, for biomass-based systems. This review demonstrates that the variability of existing LCA results for electricity generation can give rise to conflicting decisions regarding the environmental consequences of implementing new technologies.

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“…Biomass CHP plants are often seen as an efficient way to reduce greenhouse gases emissions due to their very low CO 2 emissions level [1,2]. Biomass pellet price per unit of primary energy is also lower than that of fossil fuels (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation and optimization of a CHP biomass plant and district heating network

2014

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Biomass Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants connected to district heating (DH) networks are recognized nowadays as a very good opportunity to increase the share of renewable sources into energy systems. However, as CHP plants are not optimized for electricity production, their operation is profitable only if a sufficient heat demand is available throughout the year. Most of the time, pre-feasibility studies are based on peak power demand and business plans only assume monthly or yearly consumption data. This approach usually turns out to overestimate the number of operating hours or oversize the plant capacity.This contribution presents a methodology intended to be simple and effective that provides accurate estimations of economical, environmental and energetic performances of CHP plants connected to district heating networks. A quasi-steady state simulation model of a CHP plant combined with a simulation model of the district heating network installed on the Campus of the University in Liège (Belgium) is used as an application framework to demonstrate the effectiveness of the selected approach. Based on the developed model and actual consumption data, several scenarios for energy savings are considered and ranked. The potential energy savings and resulting energy costs are estimated enabling more general conclusions to be drawn on the opportunity of using district heating networks in urban districts for Western Europe countries.

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LCA of renewable energy for electricity generation systems—A review

Cited by 451 publications

References 33 publications

LCA of Local Bio-chp Fuelled Greeenhouses Versus Mediterranean Open Fiel Tomatoes for Consumption in Northern Scandinavia

LCA of Local Bio-chp Fuelled Greeenhouses Versus Mediterranean Open Fiel Tomatoes for Consumption in Northern Scandinavia

Life cycle assessment (LCA) of electricity generation technologies: Overview, comparability and limitations

Simulation and optimization of a CHP biomass plant and district heating network

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