IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v69y2014icp760-768.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Grid infrastructure for renewable power in Europe: The environmental cost

Author

Listed:
  • Jorge, Raquel S.
  • Hertwich, Edgar G.

Abstract

Climate mitigation policies in Europe call for an extensive build-up of renewable power, which will increase from 320 GW in 2012 to 536 GW by 2020. The renewable expansion will mainly consist of the installation of new wind and solar power plants, which require additional transmission lines. The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity estimates that 45,300 km of new or upgraded lines are necessary in the region over the next decade to accommodate the renewable power sources. Building a grid for renewables will help Europe achieve its climate goals, but other resulting environmental impacts have not yet been quantified. In this article a LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) for the transmission grid expansion is performed. The results show that the grid extension projects correspond to a total impact of 10.7 Mton CO2 eq. and 11.2 Mton Fe eq. Electricity transmission in Europe in 2020 will be more material intensive, requiring about 10% more metal inputs per kWh than today. Manufacturing processes for the production of transmission equipment are important for some impacts categories, particularly water depletion. Finally, a sensitivity analysis regarding recycling rates indicates that the results in some impact categories present great variation depending on the rates assumed.

Suggested Citation

  • Jorge, Raquel S. & Hertwich, Edgar G., 2014. "Grid infrastructure for renewable power in Europe: The environmental cost," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 760-768.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:69:y:2014:i:c:p:760-768
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2014.03.072
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544214003363
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2014.03.072?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sathre, Roger & Chester, Mikhail & Cain, Jennifer & Masanet, Eric, 2012. "A framework for environmental assessment of CO2 capture and storage systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 540-548.
    2. Harrison, Gareth P. & Maclean, Edward (Ned). J. & Karamanlis, Serafeim & Ochoa, Luis F., 2010. "Life cycle assessment of the transmission network in Great Britain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 3622-3631, July.
    3. Van Hertem, Dirk & Ghandhari, Mehrdad, 2010. "Multi-terminal VSC HVDC for the European supergrid: Obstacles," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 3156-3163, December.
    4. Kleijn, René & van der Voet, Ester & Kramer, Gert Jan & van Oers, Lauran & van der Giesen, Coen, 2011. "Metal requirements of low-carbon power generation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 5640-5648.
    5. Honarmand, Masoud & Zakariazadeh, Alireza & Jadid, Shahram, 2014. "Optimal scheduling of electric vehicles in an intelligent parking lot considering vehicle-to-grid concept and battery condition," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 572-579.
    6. Blumsack, Seth & Fernandez, Alisha, 2012. "Ready or not, here comes the smart grid!," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 61-68.
    7. Lobão, J.A. & Devezas, T. & Catalão, J.P.S., 2014. "Influence of cable losses on the economic analysis of efficient and sustainable electrical equipment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 145-151.
    8. Pihl, Erik & Kushnir, Duncan & Sandén, Björn & Johnsson, Filip, 2012. "Material constraints for concentrating solar thermal power," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 944-954.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kim Maya Yavor & Vanessa Bach & Matthias Finkbeiner, 2021. "Resource Assessment of Renewable Energy Systems—A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, May.
    2. Kim, Hyunggeun & Park, Sangkyu & Lee, Jongsu, 2021. "Is renewable energy acceptable with power grid expansion? A quantitative study of South Korea's renewable energy acceptance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    3. Dahlia Byles & Salman Mohagheghi, 2023. "Sustainable Power Grid Expansion: Life Cycle Assessment, Modeling Approaches, Challenges, and Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-25, May.
    4. Jia Liang & Yongpei Wang, 2024. "Recognizing the nexus between grid infrastructure, renewable energy, net interregional transmission and carbon emissions: Evidence from China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), March.
    5. Ortega-Arriaga, P. & Babacan, O. & Nelson, J. & Gambhir, A., 2021. "Grid versus off-grid electricity access options: A review on the economic and environmental impacts," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    6. Soytas, Ugur & Magazzino, Cosimo & Mele, Marco & Schneider, Nicolas, 2022. "Economic and environmental implications of the nuclear power phase-out in Belgium: Insights from time-series models and a partial differential equations algorithm," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 241-256.
    7. Sulzgruber, Verena & Wünsch, David & Haider, Markus & Walter, Heimo, 2020. "Numerical investigation on the flow behavior of a novel fluidization based particle thermal energy storage (FP-TES)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    8. Pleßmann, Guido & Blechinger, Philipp, 2017. "Outlook on South-East European power system until 2050: Least-cost decarbonization pathway meeting EU mitigation targets," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 1041-1053.
    9. Cuadra, L. & Salcedo-Sanz, S. & Nieto-Borge, J.C. & Alexandre, E. & Rodríguez, G., 2016. "Computational intelligence in wave energy: Comprehensive review and case study," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1223-1246.
    10. Ocłoń, Paweł & Cisek, Piotr & Taler, Dawid & Pilarczyk, Marcin & Szwarc, Tomasz, 2015. "Optimizing of the underground power cable bedding using momentum-type particle swarm optimization method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(P2), pages 230-239.
    11. Furuoka, Fumitaka, 2017. "Renewable electricity consumption and economic development: New findings from the Baltic countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 450-463.
    12. Arvesen, Anders & Hauan, Ingrid Bjerke & Bolsøy, Bernhard Mikal & Hertwich, Edgar G., 2015. "Life cycle assessment of transport of electricity via different voltage levels: A case study for Nord-Trøndelag county in Norway," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 144-151.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hache, Emmanuel & Simoën, Marine & Seck, Gondia Sokhna & Bonnet, Clément & Jabberi, Aymen & Carcanague, Samuel, 2020. "The impact of future power generation on cement demand: An international and regional assessment based on climate scenarios," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 114-133.
    2. Kimon Keramidas & Silvana Mima & Adrien Bidaud, 2024. "Opportunities and roadblocks in the decarbonisation of the global steel sector: A demand and production modelling approach," Post-Print hal-04383385, HAL.
    3. Elshkaki, Ayman & Graedel, T.E., 2015. "Solar cell metals and their hosts: A tale of oversupply and undersupply," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 167-177.
    4. Hugh Miller & Simon Dikau & Romain Svartzman & Stéphane Dees, 2023. "The Stumbling Block in ‘the Race of our Lives’: Transition-Critical Materials, Financial Risks and the NGFS Climate Scenarios," Working papers 907, Banque de France.
    5. Kim, Junbeum & Guillaume, Bertrand & Chung, Jinwook & Hwang, Yongwoo, 2015. "Critical and precious materials consumption and requirement in wind energy system in the EU 27," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 327-334.
    6. Arvesen, Anders & Hauan, Ingrid Bjerke & Bolsøy, Bernhard Mikal & Hertwich, Edgar G., 2015. "Life cycle assessment of transport of electricity via different voltage levels: A case study for Nord-Trøndelag county in Norway," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 144-151.
    7. Fizaine, Florian & Court, Victor, 2015. "Renewable electricity producing technologies and metal depletion: A sensitivity analysis using the EROI," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 106-118.
    8. Elshkaki, Ayman & Shen, Lei, 2019. "Energy-material nexus: The impacts of national and international energy scenarios on critical metals use in China up to 2050 and their global implications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 903-917.
    9. Victor Court & Florian Fizaine, 2014. "Energy transition towards renewables and metal depletion: an approach through the EROI concept," Post-Print hal-01411803, HAL.
    10. Liang, Yanan & Kleijn, René & Tukker, Arnold & van der Voet, Ester, 2022. "Material requirements for low-carbon energy technologies: A quantitative review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    11. Shaukat, N. & Khan, B. & Ali, S.M. & Mehmood, C.A. & Khan, J. & Farid, U. & Majid, M. & Anwar, S.M. & Jawad, M. & Ullah, Z., 2018. "A survey on electric vehicle transportation within smart grid system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 1329-1349.
    12. Lee, J. & Bazilian, M. & Sovacool, B. & Hund, K. & Jowitt, S.M. & Nguyen, T.P. & Månberger, A. & Kah, M. & Greene, S. & Galeazzi, C. & Awuah-Offei, K. & Moats, M. & Tilton, J. & Kukoda, S., 2020. "Reviewing the material and metal security of low-carbon energy transitions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    13. Li, Xiao Hui & Hong, Seung Ho, 2014. "User-expected price-based demand response algorithm for a home-to-grid system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 437-449.
    14. Alassi, Abdulrahman & Bañales, Santiago & Ellabban, Omar & Adam, Grain & MacIver, Callum, 2019. "HVDC Transmission: Technology Review, Market Trends and Future Outlook," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 530-554.
    15. Raja S, Charles & Kumar N M, Vijaya & J, Senthil kumar & Nesamalar J, Jeslin Drusila, 2021. "Enhancing system reliability by optimally integrating PHEV charging station and renewable distributed generators: A Bi-Level programming approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    16. Du, Jiuyu & Chen, Jingfu & Song, Ziyou & Gao, Mingming & Ouyang, Minggao, 2017. "Design method of a power management strategy for variable battery capacities range-extended electric vehicles to improve energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 32-42.
    17. Ghaith, Ahmad F. & Epplin, Francis M. & Frazier, R. Scott, 2017. "Economics of grid-tied household solar panel systems versus grid-only electricity," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 407-424.
    18. Fan, Xing & Wang, Yangle & Zhou, Yuan & Chen, Jingtan & Huang, Yanping & Wang, Junfeng, 2018. "Experimental study of supercritical CO2 leakage behavior from pressurized vessels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 342-350.
    19. Bhandari, Vivek & Sun, Kaiyang & Homans, Frances, 2018. "The profitability of vehicle to grid for system participants - A case study from the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 278-286.
    20. Haipeng Xie & Zhaohong Bie & Yanling Lin & Chao Zheng, 2017. "A Hybrid Reliability Evaluation Method for Meshed VSC-HVDC Grids," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:69:y:2014:i:c:p:760-768. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.