The role of natural gas and its infrastructure in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, improving regional air quality, and renewable resource integration

Kinnon, Michael A. Mac; Brouwer, Jacob; Samuelsen, Scott

doi:10.1016/j.pecs.2017.10.002

Cited by 231 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 263 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) resulting from these non-CO 2 combustion by-products of electric power generation, including secondary PM 2.5 derived from SO 2 and NO x , was found to be associated with 52 200 [90% CI: 23 400-94 300] premature deaths nationwide in the year 2005 (Caiazzo et al 2013), SO 2 , NO x and PM 2.5 emissions were estimated to be responsible for 68%, 14%, and 16% of these impacts respectively (Dedoussi et al in preparation). Driven by fuel switching, as well as regulatory and technological changes, co-pollutant emissions from electric power generation have decreased over the past decades (Mac Kinnon et al 2018, Schivley et al 2018, Zigler et al 2018, US EPA 2019a. As a result, Dedoussi et al (in preparation) report a 50% decline in premature mortalities attributable to electric power generation between 2005 and 2011, and Lelieveld (2017) reports 35,700 [95% CI: 17 800-53 500] early deaths associated with 2015 power generation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The co-pollutant cost of carbon emissions: an analysis of the US electric power generation sector

Dedoussi

Allroggen

Flanagan³

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fossil fuel combustion releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere along with co-pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and others. These emissions result in environmental externalities primarily in terms of climate and air quality. Here we quantify the cost of co-pollutant emissions per ton of CO 2 emissions from US electric power generation. We measure the co-pollutant cost of carbon (CPCC) as the total value of statistical life associated with US-based premature mortalities attributable to co-pollutant emissions, per mass of CO 2 . We find an average CPCC of ∼$45 per metric ton (mt) of CO 2 for the year 2011 (in 2017 USD). This is ∼20% higher than the central Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) measure of climate damages that was used by the Obama administration in its regulatory impact analysis for the Clean Power Plan (CPP), and >8 times higher than the SCC used by the Trump administration in its analysis for the Plan's repeal. At the state-level, the CPCC ranged from ∼$7/mt CO 2 for Arizona to ∼$96/mt CO 2 for New Jersey. We calculate the CPCC trends from 2002 to 2017 and find a 71% decrease at the national level, contributing to total savings of ∼$1 trillion in averted mortality from power plant emissions over this period. By decomposing the aggregate and fuelspecific co-pollutant intensities into simultaneous (CO 2 -driven) and autonomous components, we conclude that the CPCC trends originated mainly from targeted efforts to reduce co-pollutant emissions, e.g. through fuel switching (from coal to natural gas) and autonomous changes in copollutant emissions. The results suggest that the overall benefit to society from policies to curtail carbon emissions may be enhanced by focusing on pollution sources where the associated air-quality co-benefits are greatest. At the same time, continued efforts to reduce co-pollutant intensities, if technologically feasible, could help to mitigate the air-quality damages of the CPP's repeal and replacement.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The co-pollutant cost of carbon emissions: an analysis of the US electric power generation sector

Dedoussi

Allroggen

Flanagan³

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In general, all fossil fuel-based power generation capacities in Europe are aging, meaning a good chance for renewables to replace them [10]. Nevertheless, natural gas-based power generation may play a role in balancing the growing intermittency of the production due to its flexibility [11]. The growing share of renewables is due to policy incentives and more and more to decreasing costs and economic maturity, while fossil fuel-based capacities are disappearing due to the ageing of the power plant stock and phase-out policies [10].…”

Section: Changes In the Spread Of Photovoltaic And Wind Energy Technomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, all fossil fuel-based power generation capacities in Europe are ageing, representing an opportunity for renewables to take their place [10]. Natural gas-based power generation may play a role in balancing the growing intermittency coming from a large share of wind and solar power in the energy mix due to its flexibility (dispatchability) [11]. However, battery storage and other forms of flexibility solutions, such as the combination of different renewable technologies and smart grids, increasingly provide auxiliary services and the ability to reduce the peak load of electricity with a chance to even rely less on natural gas as a single source for balancing.…”

Section: Overview Of the Eu Calculator's Electricity Modulementioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Electricity Balancing and Storage: Developing Input Parameters for the European Calculator for Concept Modeling

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite the apparent stability of the electricity system from a consumer’s point of view, there is indeed significant effort exerted by network operators to guarantee the constancy of the electricity supply in order to meet demands any time. In the energy sector models provide an important conceptual framework to generate a range of insight, examine the impacts of different scenarios and analyze the supply and demand of energy. This paper presents a user-oriented and transparent modeling concept of the European calculator, a tool for delineating emission and sustainable transformation pathways at European and member state levels. The model consists of several modules of different sectors, where the energy supply module includes sub-modules for electricity generation, hydrogen production and oil refinery. The energy storage requirement module investigates how new technologies can help the stability of the European electricity system with increasing renewables penetration, demand-side measures and decarbonization paths. The objective of this study is to introduce the concept of this module with the main logical steps, especially the input parameters, assumptions, the basic data of electricity trade and maximum energy storage potential levels. The article also introduces and explains the feasibility of the theoretical maximum gross electricity generation potential from variable renewable energy for the European Union including Switzerland, compared to the demand in 2040. According to the results the electricity systems in the future will need to show ever increasing flexibility in order to cope with variable renewable energy production on the supply side, and shifting patterns of electricity consumption on the demand side.

show abstract

“…Due to its low cost, clear-burning, and less CO 2 release per energy unit, natural gas is considered as a clean energy resource compared with conventional fossil fuels including coal, crude oil >petroleum [1,2]. However, around one third of raw natural gases contain CO 2 and sulfur components (H 2 S, RSH, RSSH, CS 2 , and COS), which need to be removed to meet specifications of sales gas [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Techno-Economic Analysis of a Novel Two-Stage Flashing Process for Acid Gas Removal from Natural Gas

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Excessive CO2 content will reduce the natural gas calorific value and increase the energy consumption of the regenerator in natural gas desulfurization and decarbonization. This paper uses Aspen HYSYS to model a novel two-stage flash process of acid gas removal process from natural gas. According to the results from the simulation, as well as running experiences in a natural gas processing plant in the middle east, it can be demonstrated that this new process, which has been used in the field of natural gas desulfurization and decarbonization, can meet the requirement of product specifications. Based on the steady state simulation, Aspen HYSYS sensitivity function is used to evaluate influence of key operating parameters, such as the second flash pressure and temperature, on the energy consumption. Compared to the traditional acid gas removal process and acid gas enrichment process, the new two-stage flash acid gas removal process has less energy consumption (2.2 × 109 kJ·h−1). In addition, two-stage flash acid gas removal process also improves the efficiency of acid gas enrichment, while the overall energy consumption is less than combination process of traditional process and acid gas enrichment process.

show abstract

The role of natural gas and its infrastructure in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, improving regional air quality, and renewable resource integration

Cited by 231 publications

References 263 publications

The co-pollutant cost of carbon emissions: an analysis of the US electric power generation sector

The co-pollutant cost of carbon emissions: an analysis of the US electric power generation sector

The Role of Electricity Balancing and Storage: Developing Input Parameters for the European Calculator for Concept Modeling

Techno-Economic Analysis of a Novel Two-Stage Flashing Process for Acid Gas Removal from Natural Gas

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About