Kis, Z., Pandya, N. and Koppelaar, R.H.E.M. (2018) Electricity generation technologies: Comparison of materials use, energy return on investment, jobs creation and CO2 emissions reduction. Energy Policy, 120. pp. 144-157. ISSN 0301-4215
Abstract
Shifting to a low-carbon electricity future requires up-to-date information on the energetic, environmental and socio-economic performance of technologies. Here, we present a novel comprehensive bottom-up process chain framework that is applied to 19 electricity generation technologies, consistently incorporating 12 life-cycle phases from extraction to decommissioning. For each life-cycle phase of each technology the following 4 key metrics were assessed: material consumption, energy return ratios, job requirements and greenhouse gas emissions. We also calculate a novel global electricity to grid average for these metrics and present a metric variability analysis by altering transport distance, load factors, efficiency, and fuel density per technology. This work quantitatively supports model-to-policy frameworks that drive technology selection and investment based on energetic-economic viability, job creation and carbon emission reduction of technologies. The results suggest energetic-economic infeasibility of electricity generation networks with substantial shares of: i) liquefied natural gas transport, ii) long distance transport based hard and brown coal and pipeline natural gas, and iii) low-load factor solar-photovoltaic, concentrated solar power, onshore and offshore wind. Direct sector jobs can be expected to double in renewable-majority scenarios. All combustion-powered technologies without natural (biomass) or artificial carbon capture (fossil fuels) are not compatible with a low carbon electricity generation future.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Energy Policy. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Electricity technology comparison; Net electricity; Electricity generation supply chain; Electricity generation jobs; Electricity generation greenhouse gas emissions |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 05 Oct 2021 11:29 |
Last Modified: | 05 Oct 2021 11:29 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier BV |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.05.033 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:178754 |
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Filename: EP_2018_JEPO-D-17-02472_ZKis_NPandya_RKoppelaar_ManuScript.pdf
Licence: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0