Energy System Pathways with Low Environmental Impacts and Limited Costs: Minimizing Climate Change Impacts Produces Environmental Cobenefits and Challenges in Toxicity and Metal Depletion Categories

Vandepaer, Laurent; Panos, Evangelos; Bauer, Christian; Amor, Ben

doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b06484

Cited by 30 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…For example, the expansion and operation of technologies in the heat and transport sectors are not included. Vandepaer et al [18] used a multi-sectoral ESOM for Switzerland and showed, for instance, that in an energy system optimized towards life cycle GHG emissions, additional power generation capacity is added to deploy a higher proportion of hydrogen-based transportation technologies compared to the cost-optimal solution where transportation is mostly based on battery electric vehicles. Therefore, the sectoral extension of the approach presented in our study is crucial to fully understand the impact of considering life cycle GHG emissions on the structure and overall environmental performance of the entire energy system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The information considered in the ESOM for the adjustment of the LCA indicators is efficiency and lifetime to ensure consistency and to allow for the correct consideration of the impacts from construction (see Equations (2) and 3), in line with earlier integration work [16,18].…”

Section: Life Cycle Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…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. Vandepaer et al [18] optimized both the system costs and life cycle impacts and then included predefined system cost constraints in the optimization of environmental impacts for the Swiss energy system. The authors demonstrated that a small increase in costs can result in substantial climate change mitigation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2021

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We integrate life cycle indicators for various technologies of an energy system model with high spatiotemporal detail and a focus on Europe and North Africa. Using multi-objective optimization, we calculate a pareto front that allows us to assess the trade-offs between system costs and life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of future power systems. Furthermore, we perform environmental ex-post assessments of selected solutions using a broad set of life cycle impact categories. In a system with the least life cycle GHG emissions, the costs would increase by ~63%, thereby reducing life cycle GHG emissions by ~82% compared to the cost-optimal solution. Power systems mitigating a substantial part of life cycle GHG emissions with small increases in system costs show a trend towards a deployment of wind onshore, electricity grid and a decline in photovoltaic plants and Li-ion storage. Further reductions are achieved by the deployment of concentrated solar power, wind offshore and nuclear power but lead to considerably higher costs compared to the cost-optimal solution. Power systems that mitigate life cycle GHG emissions also perform better for most impact categories but have higher ionizing radiation, water use and increased fossil fuel demand driven by nuclear power. This study shows that it is crucial to consider upstream GHG emissions in future assessments, as they represent an inheritable part of total emissions in ambitious energy scenarios that, so far, mainly aim to reduce direct CO2 emissions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Life Cycle Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2021

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“…However, such adaptions of the background database are difficult to operationalise with the current software tools. Thus matrix-based approaches, such as those presented in Mendoza Beltran et al [42], Vandepaer et al [43] or Fernández Astudillo et al [6], are becoming increasingly relevant, which also meet the transparency criteria proclaimed by parts of the research community [44,45].…”

Section: Methodsological Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Multi-Sectoral Energy Transformation Pathways: Methodological Approach and Case Study for Germany

et al. 2020

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In order to analyse long-term transformation pathways, energy system models generally focus on economical and technical characteristics. However, these models usually do not consider sustainability aspects such as environmental impacts. In contrast, life cycle assessment enables an extensive estimate of those impacts. Due to these complementary characteristics, the combination of energy system models and life cycle assessment thus allows comprehensive environmental sustainability assessments of technically and economically feasible energy system transformation pathways. We introduce FRITS, a FRamework for the assessment of environmental Impacts of Transformation Scenarios. FRITS links bottom-up energy system models with life cycle impact assessment indicators and quantifies the environmental impacts of transformation strategies of the entire energy system (power, heat, transport) over the transition period. We apply the framework to conduct an environmental assessment of multi-sectoral energy scenarios for Germany. Here, a ‘Target’ scenario reaching 80% reduction of energy-related direct CO2 emissions is compared with a ‘Reference’ scenario describing a less ambitious transformation pathway. The results show that compared to 2015 and the ‘Reference’ scenario, the ‘Target’ scenario performs better for most life cycle impact assessment indicators. However, the impacts of resource consumption and land use increase for the ‘Target’ scenario. These impacts are mainly caused by road passenger transport and biomass conversion.

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“…Only a few studies have focused on integrating LCA indicators to ESMs [18][19][20][21]. However, these studies either follow the ex-post assessment approach [18,19], or aggregate all considered environmental impacts into only one or a few indicators [20,21], though a multi-objective optimization approach is applied. None of them has thoroughly analyzed the potential impacts on the shape of the electricity system if the trade-offs are implemented in respective policies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Considering the Impacts of Metal Depletion on the European Electricity System

Wang

Yılmaz

et al. 2021

Energies

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The transformation of the European electricity system could generate unintended environment-related trade-offs, e.g., between greenhouse gas emissions and metal depletion. The question thus emerges, how to shape policy packages considering climate change, but without neglecting other environmental and resource-related impacts. In this context, this study analyzes the impacts of different settings of potential policy targets using a multi-criteria analysis in the frame of a coupled energy system and life cycle assessment model. The focus is on the interrelationship between climate change and metal depletion in the future European decarbonized electricity system in 2050, also taking into account total system expenditures of transforming the energy system. The study shows, firstly, that highly ambitious climate policy targets will not allow for any specific resource policy targets. Secondly, smoothing the trade-off is only possible to the extent of one of the policy targets, whereas, thirdly, the potential of recycling as a techno-economic option is limited.

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Energy System Pathways with Low Environmental Impacts and Limited Costs: Minimizing Climate Change Impacts Produces Environmental Cobenefits and Challenges in Toxicity and Metal Depletion Categories

Abstract: B. (2020). Energy system pathways with low environmental impacts and limited costs: minimizing climate change impacts produces environmental cobenefits and challenges in toxicity and metal depletion categories. Environmental Science and Technology.

Cited by 30 publications

References 39 publications

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

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

Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Multi-Sectoral Energy Transformation Pathways: Methodological Approach and Case Study for Germany

Considering the Impacts of Metal Depletion on the European Electricity System

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