Life-cycle analysis of energy systems : from methodology to applications

347 Pages·2011·8.853 MB·English

by  Bent Sørensen;

Bent Sørensen
Life-Cycle Analysis of
Energy Systems
From Methodology to Applications
Life-Cycle Analysis of Energy Systems
From Methodology to Applications
Other books by the author
A History of Energy – A North European case study from Stone Age to
present, 2011
Renewable Energy Reference Book Set (ed., four volumes of reprints), 2011
Renewable Energy – Physics, engineering, environmental impacts,
economics and planning, 4th edn., 2010 (previous editions 1979, 2000
and 2004)
Renewable Energy Focus Handbook (with Breeze, Storvick, Yang,
Rosa, Gupta, Doble, Maegaard, Pistoia and Kalogirou), 2008
Renewable Energy Conversion, Transmission and Storage, 2007
Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, 2005 (2nd edn. planned for 2011)
Life-Cycle Analysis of Energy Systems (with Kuemmel and Nielsen), 1997
Blegdamsvej 17, 1989
Superstrenge, 1987
Fred og frihed, 1985
Fundamentals of Energy Storage (with Jensen), 1984
Energi for fremtiden (with Hvelplund, Illum, Jensen, Meyer and
Nørga˚rd), 1983
Energikriser og Udviklingsperspektiver (with Danielsen), 1983
Skitse til alternativ energiplan for Danmark (with Blegaa, Hvelplund,
Jensen, Josephsen, Linderoth, Meyer and Balling), 1976
Life-Cycle Analysis of
Energy Systems
From Methodology to Applications
Bent Sørensen
Department of Environmental, Social and Spatial Change,
Roskilde University, Denmark
ISBN:978-1-84973-145-4
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rBentSørensen2011
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Preface
Life-cycle analysis has grown out of its infancy during recent years as a tool
for analysing the complex impacts of product life cycles and increasingly in
the energy field as a tool for analysing different solutions, both for specific
installations and in the process of systems planning.
This book is an introduction to this field of science and assessment,
providing basic methodology and practical experience through a range of
examples. By carrying life-cycle analysis from the narrow field characterizing
conventional product assessment to the much broader field of systems assess-
ment,anumberofnewchallengesareencountered,bothregardingtheimpacts
to include in the study and also with respect to the technical approach to
follow.Thebookattemptstogiveasystematicoverviewoftheseproblemsand
theirsolution,bothwiththeaimofservingasatextbookatuniversityleveland
also as a reference work for engineers, economists or environmental scientists
andadministrators,whether onalocal oranationallevel,inneedoflife-cycle
assessment insights as a part of their work.
Forclassroomusethemethodologychaptersmayformthebasisforlectures,
while the chapters dealing with case studies may be used as discussion papers
andmaterialforexercisessuitedfortreatmentinstudygroups,whichcouldbe
focused on construction of one or more local scenarios.
The basis drawn upon for the presentation has two components: on the
methodological side, work performed for the OECD (Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development) and its sister organisation IEA
(International Energy Agency) has been used, together with material derived
from projects performed for various United Nations organisations (the envir-
onmental programme, UNEP, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change,IPCC).Ontheapplicationside,projectshavebeencarriedoutforthe
12th Directorate of the European Commission (the project Externalities of
Energy of the JOULE Programme and a scenario project under the APAS/
RENA programme), and last but not least for the Danish Energy Agency’s
Energy Research Programme, which financed a life-cycle analysis of both
Life-CycleAnalysisofEnergySystems
ByBentSørensen
rBentSørensen2011
PublishedbytheRoyalSocietyofChemistry,www.rsc.org
v
vi Preface
current and future Danish energy systems. Participants in all the projects are
thanked for interesting discussions over the years.
The present book constitutes a complete rewriting of an earlier account by
Bernd Kuemmel, Stefan Kru¨ger Nielsen and Bent Sørensen, furnishing here
detailed discussion of a wealth of new applications based on work from the
recent decade. The methodology chapters of course have many sections only
lightly updated from the earlier version. After all, theory is not supposed to
change too much with time.
At the end of the book there is a Glossary of words and concepts, giving
explanations of important terms, followed by references, units and conversion
factors, and an index.
Bent Sørensen
Gilleleje, Denmark, 2010
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
1.1 History 1
1.2 ISO-Based Implementations 9
1.3 The Present Approach 16
References 19
Part I Methodology
Chapter 2 Life-Cycle Analysis 25
2.1 LCA Basics 26
2.1.1 Defining the Purpose and Scope of LCA 27
2.1.2 Treatment of Import and Export 32
2.2 What to Include in a LCA? 34
2.2.1 Qualitative or Quantitative Estimates of
Impacts 40
2.2.2 Treatment of Risk-related Impacts and
Accidents in LCA 40
2.3 Choosing the Context 41
2.3.1 Social Context 42
2.4 Aggregation Issues 44
2.5 Chain Calculations 47
2.6 Matrix Calculations 51
2.6.1 Marginal versus Systemic Change 53
2.7 Inventory Building 54
References 63
Life-CycleAnalysisofEnergySystems
ByBentSørensen
rBentSørensen2011
PublishedbytheRoyalSocietyofChemistry,www.rsc.org
vii
viii Contents
Chapter 3 From Life-Cycle Analysis to Life-Cycle Assessment 67
3.1 Communicating with Decision Makers 67
3.2 Monetising Issues 69
3.2.1 Statistical Value of Life 71
3.2.2 Depreciation 73
3.3 Multivariate Presentation 74
References 78
Chapter 4 Energy System Definition 79
4.1 Energy Demand and Supply 82
4.1.1 Basic and Derived Energy Demands 82
4.1.2 Energy Production, Conversion and End Use 90
4.2 Scenario Techniques 98
4.2.1 Why Use Scenario Techniques? 98
4.2.2 Methodology and Short History of
Scenario Construction 100
4.2.3 Sociological and Geopolitical Basis
for Scenarios 101
References 104
Part II Applications
Chapter 5 Life-Cycle Analysis of Particular Substances and
Common Issues 109
5.1 LCA of Greenhouse Gases 109
5.1.1 Food Production and Silviculture 125
5.1.2 Extreme Events 127
5.1.3 Direct Health Impacts of Climate Change 136
5.1.4 Vector-borne Diseases 148
5.1.5 Ecosystem Impacts 155
5.1.6 Choice of Impact Valuation Methodology 156
5.1.7 Overall Valuation of Greenhouse
Warming Impacts 159
5.2 LCA of Combustion Pollutants 165
5.3 LCA of Radioactive Substances and Accidents 173
References 181
Chapter 6 Life-Cycle Analysis of Primary and Intermediate Energy
Conversion 191
6.1 Power Production from Fossil Fuels 192
Contents ix
6.1.1 LCA of Coal-fired Power Stations 194
6.1.2 LCA of Power Stations Using Natural
Gas or Fuel Oil 204
6.2 Power from Nuclear Schemes 206
6.3 Renewable Energy Chains 211
6.3.1 LCA of Wind Power Plants 211
6.3.2 LCA of Photovoltaic and other Solar
Energy Systems 220
6.3.3 LCA of Hydropower and Geothermal Energy 227
6.3.4 LCAofHydrogenProductionandLarge-scale
Fuel Cell Plants 229
6.3.5 LCA of Food Provision 234
6.3.6 LCA of Gaseous and Liquid Biofuels 238
References 247
Chapter 7 Life-Cycle Analysis of End-Use Energy Conversion 255
7.1 LCA of Road Traffic 255
7.1.1 Conventional Gasoline Otto-engine
Passenger Car 255
7.1.2 Fuel Cell Passenger Car Compared with
Conventional Car 259
7.1.3 Other Transport Modes 270
7.2 LCA of Buildings and Space Conditioning 272
7.2.1 Heat Transfer through the Building Shell 272
7.2.2 Building Heating and Hybrid
Energy Systems 278
7.3 LCA of Home and Work Activities 284
References 289
Chapter 8 Life-Cycle Analysis on a System-Wide Level 295
8.1 LCA in National Energy-System Planning 295
8.1.1 LCA of Selected Scenarios for Future
Danish Energy Systems 296
8.2 Assessing Future Directions in a Global Context 301
8.3 Wrapping Up 309
References 311
Glossary of Words and Concepts 313
Units and Conversion Factors 317
Subject Index 321