Title:
Assessing Possible Emission Reductions in the Energy Mix: Unconventional Gas or Miscanthus Biomass?
Author(s):
Gyparis, I.G., Sidiras, D.K.
Document(s):
Paper
Poster
Abstract:
European countries seek to expand their energy mix to confront resource scarcity, competition for various land-use types and coverage of human needs sustainably, without polluting. Poland aims to replace the obsolete technologies of electricity production with modern, such as electricity generated by Miscanthus biomass or shale gas. In 2015, 28% of new power projects used gas technologies while 8% biomass. Although the growth of the sector was decelerated; shale gas is fostered in Poland because there are substantial deposits. Perennial crops, as Miscanthus, are the most adequate way to produce biomass for energy purposes in Poland because of the high availability in arable lands. An attributional life-cycle assessment was conducted based on ISO 14040-14044 standard to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of energy production from Miscanthus and Shale gas. 30.000 m2 of land was used in both cases to estimate the carbon footprint of the processes. The emissions of a 25-year period were measured using GWP100 under different scenarios. The functional unit was 1 kWh of electricity distributed. The results were expressed in kg CO2e/kWhe distributed. No other environmental impact was evaluated. In the main scenario, electricity production from Miscanthus generated 0,302 kg CO2e/kWhe compared to 0,833 kg CO2e/kWhe of shale gas. 72%-79% emission reductions were achieved using Miscanthus and 5%-30% using shale gas compared to coal-fired technologies for electricity production and distribution. Sensitivity analysis was conducted for key LCA components. New policies that create a more environmentally friendly energy mix can be established, promoting renewable energy technologies.
Keywords:
greenhouse gases (GHG), climate change, environmental impact, energy efficiency
Topic:
Biomass Policies, Markets and Sustainability
Subtopic:
Environmental impacts of bioenergy
Event:
25th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
4AV.2.22
Pages:
1740 - 1748
ISBN:
978-88-89407-17-2
Paper DOI:
10.5071/25thEUBCE2017-4AV.2.22
Price:
FREE
