Life cycle assessment of power generation systems in Spain: Exploring a broader view from a consequential perspective

Guillén-Lambea, Silvia (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Abrahão, Raphael ; Carvalho, Monica

Resumen: Developing new clean power generation systems is a research priority for the energy sector, and selection should be based on environmental performance over the entire lifetime. Consequential Life Cycle Assessment evaluates the consequences of this selection and provides environmental data to support decision-making. This research uses a consequential approach to assess the environmental impacts of two medium power generation systems. The selected environmental impact assessment methods are IPCC 2013 GWP 100y and ReCiPe 2016. Moreover, the work describes a methodology for finding the marginal mix technologies for electricity and cooling energy production depending on the time horizon. The positive environmental consequences associated with short-term marginal energy mixes (electricity and cooling) progressively disappear when the marginal energy mix varies throughout time. The environmental results strongly depend on the marginal mix of technologies and evidence the necessity to develop methodologies and standards to improve the robustness of environmental assessments. A new line of discussion is opened concerning the temporal variation of environmental impacts of an energy production system, which could also be considered in Attributional Life Cycle Assessments.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1016/j.spc.2023.03.018

Año: 2023

Publicado en: Sustainable Production and Consumption 38 (2023), 28-40
ISSN: 2352-5509

Factor impacto JCR: 10.9 (2023)

Categ. JCR: ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES rank: 7 / 182 = 0.038 (2023) - Q1 - T1
Categ. JCR: GREEN & SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY rank: 7 / 91 = 0.077 (2023) - Q1 - T1
Categ. JCR: GREEN & SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY rank: 7 / 91 = 0.077 (2023) - Q1 - T1

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 17.4 - Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment (Q1) - Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (Q1) - Environmental Engineering (Q1) - Environmental Chemistry (Q1)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 2.359 - Environmental Chemistry (Q1) - Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment (Q1) - Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (Q1) - Environmental Engineering (Q1)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/T55-20R
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/RYC2021-034265-I
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO-PID2020-115500RB-I00

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Máquinas y Motores Térmi. (Dpto. Ingeniería Mecánica)