Environmental impact indicators for the electricity mix and network development planning towards 2050 – A POLES and EUTGRID model

Abstract

Most prospective studies of the European power system rely on least-cost evaluations. This study assessed the influence of environmental impact indicators on prioritisation of 'dispatchable' technologies in the European energy mix up to 2050, compared with a purely cost-optimal system based on carbon tax incentives, without suppressing economic growth considerations. A model that combined the Prospective Outlook for Long-term Energy Systems model (POLES) and the European and Transmission Grid Investment and Dispatch model (EUTGRID)was used in the analysis. Combined current and prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies were added to the EUTGRID model to include environmental considerations in the decision-making process. Shifting from an economic to an environmental merit order in prioritisation increased the share of renewables by 2.65% (with variations between countries) and decreased overall emissions by 9.00%. This involved a change in grid infrastructure. Investments were found to be more important when optimisation was based on an environmental criterion on new high-voltage AC power lines, which resulted in a 1.50% increase in the overall cost of the power system. Finally, considering an environmental, instead of an economic, merit order allowed decarbonisation to be achieved slightly faster, resulting in lower cumulative greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.

Sustainable Power Grid Expansion: Life Cycle Assessment, Modeling Approaches, Challenges, and Opportunities

“…In [49], an LCA-based method was developed to help policymakers with deploying energy storage systems. In another study, authors in [71] developed an LCA-based methodology for determining carbon tax incentives that only considered environmental impacts and not cost. Lastly, LCA can help influence policies and regulations within electricity markets by coupling with other models such as optimization, geospatial informatics, net energy analysis, building information, and network theory [44,50,54,58,65,72].…”

Considering distribution grids and local flexibilities in the prospective development of the European power system by 2050

“…To assess the role of the transmission grid, multiple scenarios with the same climate energy policy are set up [37].…”

Spatial Distribution of Overhead Power Lines and Underground Cables in Germany in 2016

“…Publicly accessible geodata of the existing power grid in Germany is heterogeneous, especially with respect to different voltage levels. For a comprehensive impact analysis [15], data on voltage levels, numbers of circuits and power pole heights are required. However, such data is not publicly available or cannot be obtained with reasonable effort in the context of scientific analyses.…”

“…For this purpose, a spatially complete dataset of overhead lines needs to be complemented with data on technical parameters, in particular voltage levels. From the voltage levels, power line-specific attributes (e.g., wire height and diameter) known to be linked to bird collision risk can be directly derived [1,15,21]. In this context, the presented dataset of overhead lines was successfully utilized to analyze the areas of bird sanctuaries and habitats outside protected areas with high potential for conflict in relation to overhead lines (Kinast et al, in publication).…”