IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v11y2018i6p1412-d150020.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Carbon Footprint of Electricity Generation in Brazil: An Analysis of the 2016–2026 Period

Author

Listed:
  • Murillo Vetroni Barros

    (Sustainable Production Systems Laboratory (LESP), Postgraduate Program in Production Engineering (PPGEP), Federal University of Technology—Paraná (UTFPR), 84016-210 Ponta Grossa, Parana, Brazil)

  • Cassiano Moro Piekarski

    (Sustainable Production Systems Laboratory (LESP), Postgraduate Program in Production Engineering (PPGEP), Federal University of Technology—Paraná (UTFPR), 84016-210 Ponta Grossa, Parana, Brazil)

  • Antonio Carlos De Francisco

    (Sustainable Production Systems Laboratory (LESP), Postgraduate Program in Production Engineering (PPGEP), Federal University of Technology—Paraná (UTFPR), 84016-210 Ponta Grossa, Parana, Brazil)

Abstract

The present paper aims to evaluate the past and future environmental performance of the electricity generation in Brazil in terms of Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Global Temperature Potential (GTP). To that end, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool was used to evaluate the system’s environmental performance, based on ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, using the Ecoinvent v 3.3 database. This study provides data on global warming by the GWP and GTP 100 years impact category. The functional unit and reference flow is kWh. The model was applied to the electricity generation in Brazil for the years 2016–2026 using Umberto NXT Universal software. The results indicate that the greatest environmental impacts lie on generation sources such as oil, natural gas, hydropower and hard coal. Carbon dioxide was the main contributor to atmospheric emissions in the life cycle of the Brazilian electricity matrix in 2016 and 2026. The total potential impact (and per kWh) is expected to decrease until 2021. The Brazilian electricity matrix is expected to be less pollutant in terms of carbon footprint until 2021. The study can contribute to directing public policies, promoting development actions and encouraging different electricity matrices.

Suggested Citation

  • Murillo Vetroni Barros & Cassiano Moro Piekarski & Antonio Carlos De Francisco, 2018. "Carbon Footprint of Electricity Generation in Brazil: An Analysis of the 2016–2026 Period," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-14, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:6:p:1412-:d:150020
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/6/1412/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/6/1412/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Akhil Kadiyala & Raghava Kommalapati & Ziaul Huque, 2016. "Evaluation of the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Hydroelectricity Generation Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-14, June.
    2. Burcin Atilgan & Adisa Azapagic, 2016. "Assessing the Environmental Sustainability of Electricity Generation in Turkey on a Life Cycle Basis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, January.
    3. Alamo Alexandre da Silva Batista & Antonio Carlos de Francisco, 2018. "Organizational Sustainability Practices: A Study of the Firms Listed by the Corporate Sustainability Index," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, January.
    4. Treyer, Karin & Bauer, Christian & Simons, Andrew, 2014. "Human health impacts in the life cycle of future European electricity generation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(S1), pages 31-44.
    5. Jesús Montes-Romero & Michel Piliougine & José Vicente Muñoz & Eduardo F. Fernández & Juan De la Casa, 2017. "Photovoltaic Device Performance Evaluation Using an Open-Hardware System and Standard Calibrated Laboratory Instruments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-19, November.
    6. Sueli De Fátima de Oliveira Miranda Santos & Cassiano Moro Piekarski & Cássia Maria Lie Ugaya & Danilo Barros Donato & Aldo Braghini Júnior & Antonio Carlos De Francisco & Ana Márcia Macedo Ladeira Ca, 2017. "Life Cycle Analysis of Charcoal Production in Masonry Kilns with and without Carbonization Process Generated Gas Combustion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-20, September.
    7. Alexander T. Dale & André Frossard Pereira de Lucena & Joe Marriott & Bruno Soares Moreira Cesar Borba & Roberto Schaeffer & Melissa M. Bilec, 2013. "Modeling Future Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Environmental Impacts of Electricity Supplies in Brazil," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(7), pages 1-27, July.
    8. Akhil Kadiyala & Raghava Kommalapati & Ziaul Huque, 2016. "Evaluation of the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Different Biomass Feedstock Electricity Generation Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-12, November.
    9. Garcia, Rita & Marques, Pedro & Freire, Fausto, 2014. "Life-cycle assessment of electricity in Portugal," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 563-572.
    10. Oebels, Kerstin B. & Pacca, Sergio, 2013. "Life cycle assessment of an onshore wind farm located at the northeastern coast of Brazil," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 60-70.
    11. Adamantia Zoi Vougioukli & Eleni Didaskalou & Dimitrios Georgakellos, 2017. "Financial Appraisal of Small Hydro-Power Considering the Cradle-to-Grave Environmental Cost: A Case from Greece," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-20, March.
    12. Asdrubali, Francesco & Baldinelli, Giorgio & D’Alessandro, Francesco & Scrucca, Flavio, 2015. "Life cycle assessment of electricity production from renewable energies: Review and results harmonization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1113-1122.
    13. Atilgan, Burcin & Azapagic, Adisa, 2016. "An integrated life cycle sustainability assessment of electricity generation in Turkey," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 168-186.
    14. Raugei, Marco & Leccisi, Enrica, 2016. "A comprehensive assessment of the energy performance of the full range of electricity generation technologies deployed in the United Kingdom," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 46-59.
    15. Raj, Ratan & Ghandehariun, Samane & Kumar, Amit & Linwei, Ma, 2016. "A well-to-wire life cycle assessment of Canadian shale gas for electricity generation in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 642-652.
    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. Jovani Taveira de Souza & Antonio Carlos de Francisco & Cassiano Moro Piekarski & Guilherme Francisco do Prado, 2019. "Data Mining and Machine Learning to Promote Smart Cities: A Systematic Review from 2000 to 2018," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-14, February.
    2. Luiz Fernando Rodrigues Pinto & Henrricco Nieves Pujol Tucci & Giovanni Mummolo & Geraldo Cardoso de Oliveira Neto & Francesco Facchini, 2022. "Circular Economy Approach on Energy Cogeneration in Petroleum Refining," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-15, February.
    3. Moraes, Camile A. & Valadão, Giovana F. & Renato, Natalia S. & Botelho, Daniel F. & Oliveira, Augusto C. L. de & Aleman, Catariny C. & Cunha, Fernando F., 2022. "Floating photovoltaic plants as an electricity supply option in the Tocantins-Araguaia basin," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 264-277.
    4. Abulibdeh, A. & Jawarneh, R.N. & Al-Awadhi, T. & Abdullah, M.M. & Abulibdeh, R. & El Kenawy, A.M., 2024. "Assessment of carbon footprint in Qatar's electricity sector: A comparative analysis across various building typologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PA).
    5. Costa, Vinicius B.F. & Capaz, Rafael S. & Silva, Patrícia F. & Doyle, Gabriel & Aquila, Giancarlo & Coelho, Éden O. & de Lorenci, Eliane & Pereira, Lígia C. & Maciel, Letícia B. & Balestrassi, Pedro P, 2022. "Socioeconomic and environmental consequences of a new law for regulating distributed generation in Brazil: A holistic assessment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    6. Gabriel Constantino & Marcos Freitas & Neilton Fidelis & Marcio Giannini Pereira, 2018. "Adoption of Photovoltaic Systems Along a Sure Path: A Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) Study Applied to the Analysis of GHG Emission Impacts," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-28, October.
    7. Ramirez, A.D. & Boero, A. & Rivela, B. & Melendres, A.M. & Espinoza, S. & Salas, D.A., 2020. "Life cycle methods to analyze the environmental sustainability of electricity generation in Ecuador: Is decarbonization the right path?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    8. Moraes, Camile Aredes & Santos, Lucas de Lima Casseres dos & Oliveira, Augusto Cesar Laviola de & Botelho, Daniel Fioresi & Moltó Berenguer, Julia & Renato, Natalia dos Santos, 2024. "Biogas-based electricity production from landfills in places of irregular disposal: Overview for the southeast region of Brazil," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    9. Claudia Cristina Sanchez Moore & Luiz Kulay, 2019. "Effect of the Implementation of Carbon Capture Systems on the Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance of the Brazilian Electricity Matrix," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.
    10. Nakyai, Teeranun & Patcharavorachot, Yaneeporn & Arpornwichanop, Amornchai & Saebea, Dang, 2020. "Comparative exergoeconomic analysis of indirect and direct bio-dimethyl ether syntheses based on air-steam biomass gasification with CO2 utilization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    11. Gabriel Constantino de Lima & Andre Luiz Lopes Toledo & Leonidas Bourikas, 2021. "The Role of National Energy Policies and Life Cycle Emissions of PV Systems in Reducing Global Net Emissions of Greenhouse Gases," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-19, February.
    12. Jager, Henriette I. & Griffiths, Natalie A. & Hansen, Carly H. & King, Anthony W. & Matson, Paul G. & Singh, Debjani & Pilla, Rachel M., 2022. "Getting lost tracking the carbon footprint of hydropower," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    13. Henrique Naim Finianos Feliciano & Fernando Fusco Rovai & Carlos Eduardo Keutenedjian Mady, 2023. "Energy, Exergy, and Emissions Analyses of Internal Combustion Engines and Battery Electric Vehicles for the Brazilian Energy Mix," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-20, August.
    14. Ferraz de Andrade Santos, José Alexandre & de Jong, Pieter & Alves da Costa, Caiuby & Torres, Ednildo Andrade, 2020. "Combining wind and solar energy sources: Potential for hybrid power generation in Brazil," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    15. Rafaella de Souza Henriques & Rodney Rezende Saldanha & Lineker Max Goulart Coelho, 2019. "An Air Pollutant Emission Analysis of Brazilian Electricity Production Projections and Other Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-19, July.
    16. Francesco Neirotti & Michel Noussan & Marco Simonetti, 2020. "Evaluating the Emissions of the Heat Supplied by District Heating Networks through A Life Cycle Perspective," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-14, October.
    17. Lyrio de Oliveira, Lucas & García Kerdan, Iván & de Oliveira Ribeiro, Celma & Oller do Nascimento, Claudio Augusto & Rego, Erik Eduardo & Giarola, Sara & Hawkes, Adam, 2020. "Modelling the technical potential of bioelectricity production under land use constraints: A multi-region Brazil case study," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).

    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. Ramirez, Angel D. & Rivela, Beatriz & Boero, Andrea & Melendres, Ana M., 2019. "Lights and shadows of the environmental impacts of fossil-based electricity generation technologies: A contribution based on the Ecuadorian experience," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 467-477.
    2. Li, Jinying & Li, Sisi & Wu, Fan, 2020. "Research on carbon emission reduction benefit of wind power project based on life cycle assessment theory," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 456-468.
    3. Zhang, Xiaoyue & Huang, Guohe & Liu, Lirong & Li, Kailong, 2022. "Development of a stochastic multistage lifecycle programming model for electric power system planning – A case study for the Province of Saskatchewan, Canada," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    4. M. A. Parvez Mahmud & Nazmul Huda & Shahjadi Hisan Farjana & Candace Lang, 2018. "Environmental Impacts of Solar-Photovoltaic and Solar-Thermal Systems with Life-Cycle Assessment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-21, September.
    5. Mahmud, M.A. Parvez & Huda, Nazmul & Farjana, Shahjadi Hisan & Lang, Candace, 2020. "Life-cycle impact assessment of renewable electricity generation systems in the United States," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 1028-1045.
    6. Hosseini, Seyed Mohsen & Kanagaraj, N. & Sadeghi, Shahrbanoo & Yousefi, Hossein, 2022. "Midpoint and endpoint impacts of electricity generation by renewable and nonrenewable technologies: A case study of Alberta, Canada," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 22-39.
    7. Mahmud, M.A. Parvez & Farjana, Shahjadi Hisan, 2022. "Comparative life cycle environmental impact assessment of renewable electricity generation systems: A practical approach towards Europe, North America and Oceania," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 1106-1120.
    8. António A. Martins & Marta Simaria & Joaquim Barbosa & Ricardo Barbosa & Daniela T. Silva & Cristina S. Rocha & Teresa M. Mata & Nídia S. Caetano, 2018. "Life cycle assessment tool of electricity generation in Portugal," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 129-143, December.
    9. Dino, Ipek Gürsel & Meral Akgül, Cagla, 2019. "Impact of climate change on the existing residential building stock in Turkey: An analysis on energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and occupant comfort," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 828-846.
    10. Markéta Šerešová & Jiří Štefanica & Monika Vitvarová & Kristina Zakuciová & Petr Wolf & Vladimír Kočí, 2020. "Life Cycle Performance of Various Energy Sources Used in the Czech Republic," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, November.
    11. Guerra, K. & Haro, P. & Gutiérrez, R.E. & Gómez-Barea, A., 2022. "Facing the high share of variable renewable energy in the power system: Flexibility and stability requirements," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    12. Catalina Ferat Toscano & Cecilia Martin-del-Campo & Gabriela Moeller-Chavez & Gabriel Leon de los Santos & Juan-Luis François & Daniel Revollo Fernandez, 2019. "Life Cycle Assessment of a Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine with a Focus on the Chemicals Used in Water Conditioning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-24, May.
    13. Dianfa Wu & Zhiping Yang & Ningling Wang & Chengzhou Li & Yongping Yang, 2018. "An Integrated Multi-Criteria Decision Making Model and AHP Weighting Uncertainty Analysis for Sustainability Assessment of Coal-Fired Power Units," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-27, May.
    14. Song, Cuihong & Gardner, Kevin H. & Klein, Sharon J.W. & Souza, Simone Pereira & Mo, Weiwei, 2018. "Cradle-to-grave greenhouse gas emissions from dams in the United States of America," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 945-956.
    15. Ghandehariun, Samane & Ghandehariun, Amir M. & Bahrami Ziabari, Nima, 2024. "Complementary assessment and design optimization of a hybrid renewable energy system integrated with open-loop pumped hydro energy storage," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    16. Valerii Havrysh & Antonina Kalinichenko & Edyta Szafranek & Vasyl Hruban, 2022. "Agricultural Land: Crop Production or Photovoltaic Power Plants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-23, April.
    17. Yuwen Chu & Yunlong Pan & Hongyi Zhan & Wei Cheng & Lei Huang & Zi Wu & Ling Shao, 2022. "Systems Accounting for Carbon Emissions by Hydropower Plant," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-15, June.
    18. Lechón, Yolanda & Lago, Carmen & Herrera, Israel & Gamarra, Ana Rosa & Pérula, Alberto, 2023. "Carbon benefits of different energy storage alternative end uses. Application to the Spanish case," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    19. He, Jiaxin & Liu, Ying & Lin, Boqiang, 2018. "Should China support the development of biomass power generation?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 416-425.
    20. Montalvo-Navarrete, Juan M. & Lasso-Palacios, Ana P., 2024. "Energy access sustainability criteria definition for Colombian rural areas," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PA).

    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:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:6:p:1412-:d:150020. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.