Comparative Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity-Generation Technologies: West Texas Case Study
This comparison of five power plants in West Texas is intended to provide various decision-makers and stakeholders with a holistic picture of the life-cycle environmental impacts associated with these power plants. A key contribution of this analysis is that we assumed all power plants generate the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/5/992 |
| _version_ | 1797264605869768704 |
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| author | Jani Das Atta Ur Rehman Rahul Verma Gurcan Gulen Michael H. Young |
| author_facet | Jani Das Atta Ur Rehman Rahul Verma Gurcan Gulen Michael H. Young |
| author_sort | Jani Das |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This comparison of five power plants in West Texas is intended to provide various decision-makers and stakeholders with a holistic picture of the life-cycle environmental impacts associated with these power plants. A key contribution of this analysis is that we assumed all power plants generate the same amount of electricity over a 30-year life, taking a 500 MW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant as a benchmark. Also, in two cases, we added battery storage to wind and solar PV facilities to render them nearly as dispatchable as the CCGT. We included the entire supply chain supporting electricity generation, which encompassed raw material sourcing, processing, manufacturing, operations, and product end of life, also called “cradle to grave”. We report on 18 environmental impacts using ReCiPe midpoint (H) impact assessment. The supply chains are global, and impacts are felt differently by host communities across the world. The results can help stakeholders identify hotspots across numerous supply chains with the highest environmental impacts. We discuss some remedial measures and challenges to inform future analysis by the research community. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:31:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cc7750e02aa84ee4bbe2b288d2c312c3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:31:34Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-cc7750e02aa84ee4bbe2b288d2c312c32024-03-12T16:42:57ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732024-02-0117599210.3390/en17050992Comparative Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity-Generation Technologies: West Texas Case StudyJani Das0Atta Ur Rehman1Rahul Verma2Gurcan Gulen3Michael H. Young4Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USABureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USAFractal Business Analytics LLC, Austin, TX 78735-8004, USABureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USABureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USAThis comparison of five power plants in West Texas is intended to provide various decision-makers and stakeholders with a holistic picture of the life-cycle environmental impacts associated with these power plants. A key contribution of this analysis is that we assumed all power plants generate the same amount of electricity over a 30-year life, taking a 500 MW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant as a benchmark. Also, in two cases, we added battery storage to wind and solar PV facilities to render them nearly as dispatchable as the CCGT. We included the entire supply chain supporting electricity generation, which encompassed raw material sourcing, processing, manufacturing, operations, and product end of life, also called “cradle to grave”. We report on 18 environmental impacts using ReCiPe midpoint (H) impact assessment. The supply chains are global, and impacts are felt differently by host communities across the world. The results can help stakeholders identify hotspots across numerous supply chains with the highest environmental impacts. We discuss some remedial measures and challenges to inform future analysis by the research community.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/5/992wind turbinescombined-cycle gas turbinessolar photovoltaiclife-cycle assessmentlithium-ion batterybattery energy storage system |
| spellingShingle | Jani Das Atta Ur Rehman Rahul Verma Gurcan Gulen Michael H. Young Comparative Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity-Generation Technologies: West Texas Case Study Energies wind turbines combined-cycle gas turbines solar photovoltaic life-cycle assessment lithium-ion battery battery energy storage system |
| title | Comparative Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity-Generation Technologies: West Texas Case Study |
| title_full | Comparative Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity-Generation Technologies: West Texas Case Study |
| title_fullStr | Comparative Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity-Generation Technologies: West Texas Case Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparative Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity-Generation Technologies: West Texas Case Study |
| title_short | Comparative Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity-Generation Technologies: West Texas Case Study |
| title_sort | comparative life cycle assessment of electricity generation technologies west texas case study |
| topic | wind turbines combined-cycle gas turbines solar photovoltaic life-cycle assessment lithium-ion battery battery energy storage system |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/5/992 |
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