40 research outputs found
From baselines to deep reductions. Improving the modeling of industrial energy demand
No full textDespite past energy efficiency improvements and decarbonization efforts, the industrial sector is still responsible for 40% of global energy consumption and more than 43% of global CO2 emissions. It is shown that the role of energy efficiency in combination with increased recycling will be key in reducing industrial energy demand, achieving reductions of approximately one quarter by 2050. But how is the industrial sector represented in most long-term energy models, models widely used for policy assessment and for evaluating different decarbonization pathways? Not in adequate detail, as it is found that very few models capture industrial details while many represent the industrial sector as a whole. But even the more industry detailed energy models could profit by adding knowledge on key areas from bottom-up industry analysis and material flow analysis and improve their projections. Improvements assessed include the energy efficiency and material efficiency options, industry inter-linkages, and change in the approaches used for material demand projections. Results have pointed that i) cost-effective energy efficiency measures do exist, but they are commonly overlooked by models, ii) policies in one sector impact the CO2 emissions in another sector (e.g., the facing out of coal-fired power plants will limit the generation of by-products used for CO2 reduction in the cement industry) and, iii) demand projections can be drastically different when results from material flow analysis are used instead of the simplified and widely used approach of relating historical trends between economic activity and consumption levels
Saving Electricity for a Green Energy System in China: The Pivotal Role of Industrial Energy Efficiency to Phase Out Coal, Improve Air Quality and Mitigate Climate Change
No full textMoving to a sustainable industry and weaning electricity supply off coal are critical to mitigate ambient air pollution and climate change. This is particularly true in China which is globally the largest manufacturer and relies heavily on coal-fired electricity. Three key knowledge gaps are relevant in this thesis: 1) how much electricity can saved in China’s industries; 2) what is the potential impact of industrial electricity savings on the evolution of electricity supply systems among different power grids; and 3) what is the relationship between electricity use, energy efficiency investments, GHG and air pollution emissions, on various spatial scales. Given the identified knowledge gaps, the objective of this thesis is to conduct an in-depth analysis of electricity saving potentials and cost-benefits of emission mitigation due to scaling up energy efficiency in industries. Our research targets industrial electric efficiency improvements in China, where electricity supply heavily depends on a coal-fired power plant fleet and faces multiple challenges to a sustainable future. Our research presents that improving energy efficiency in industry can help reshape electricity systems to combat global warming and air pollution cost-effectively, not only in China but for the countries where electricity use is likewise dominated by industry and heavily dependent on coal-based electricity, such as India, Germany, Poland, The Netherlands, and South Africa. We suggest that national policymakers who aim to co-control air pollutants and carbon emissions through decreasing the dependency on coal-intensive electricity need to recognize the importance of concurrent efforts to improve demand-side electricity use efficiency
Methods for calculating CO2 intensity of power generation and consumption: A global perspective
No full textThis paper compares five methods to calculate CO2 intensity (g/kWh) of power generation, based on different ways to take into account combined heat and power generation. It was found that the method chosen can have a large impact on the CO2 intensity for countries with relatively large amounts of combined heat and power plants. Of the analysed countries, the difference in CO2 intensities is found to be especially large for Russia, Germany and Italy (82%, 31% and 20% differences in 2007, respectively, for CO2 intensity of total power generation).
This study furthermore shows that by taking into account transmission and distribution losses and auxiliary power use, CO2 intensity for electricity consumption is 8–44% higher for the analysed countries than the CO2 intensity for electricity generation, with 15% as global average, in 2007.
CO2 emissions from power generation can be reduced by implementing best practice technology for fossil power generation. This paper estimates a potential of 18–44% savings, with 29% as global average. An additional potential is expected to exist for reducing transmission and distribution losses, which range from 4% to 25% of power generation in 2006, for the analysed countries, with 9% as global average
Geopolitical Economy of Energy Security in the European Union, the Persian Gulf, the Caspian Region and China
No full textPower of efficiency : international comparisons of energy efficiency and CO2 emissions of fossil-based power generation
No full textThe thesis looks at developments in capacity, energy efficiency and CO2 emissions of fossil power generation. Fossil fuel combustion for power generation is responsible for 27% of total greenhouse gas emissions emitted globally in 2005. It is estimated that by implementing best available technology for fossil power generation and thereby improving energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions of power generation could be reduced by 29%. This is if all fossil power plants would be replaced by best available technology and power generation would remain the same. With continuing trends however, greenhouse gas emissions from fossil power generation would grow by 95% in 2030. Energy efficiency improvement of fossil power generation alone is therefore not sufficient to compensate for the growth of fossil power generation, in case the current trend continues. This is confirmed by a case study for the EU. Despite climate targets, a large amount of new fossil capacity has been built and is planned. By placing new efficient production capacity, the efficiency of gas-fired generation in the EU increased from 34% in 1990 to 50% in 2005. For 2015, a further rise to 54% is expected. The efficiency of coal-fired power generation increased from 34% in 1990 to 38% in 2005 and is expected to increase to 40% in 2015. Despite these efficiency improvements, it is expected that greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 will have increased by 10% compared to 2005, due to an increase of fossil-fired electricity generation. It is also shown that a large portion of new capacity is not suitable for CO2 capture technology. It is estimated that CO2 capture can be applied to only 15-30% of power plants in 2030 in EU. The large amount of new fossil capacity makes it difficult to achieve greenhouse gas emission objectives. This is not only due to the limited ability to capture CO2 but also due to the long lifetime of these plants, which reduces the opportunity for renewable energy. Renewable energy is one of the main options for greenhouse gas emission reduction from electricity generation in addition to energy savings. This thesis shows the important role energy savings should play. Global electricity consumption in a business as usual scenario grows from 17 PWh in 2005 to 47 PWh in 2050. In a scenario where technical measures for energy efficiency improvement in demand sectors are implemented, electricity consumption would only grow to 22 PWh. This is a reduction of 53% in comparison to reference electricity consumption in 2050, but still a growth of nearly 30% in comparison to the 2005 level. Due to the limited potential of different options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it follows that a menu of options is needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation, including energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy and CC
Global energy efficiency improvement in the log term: a demand- and supply-side perspective
No full textThis study assessed technical potentials for
energy efficiency improvement in 2050 in a global
context. The reference scenario is based on the World
Energy Outlook of the International Energy Agency
2007 edition and assumptions regarding gross domestic
product developments after 2030. In the reference
scenario, worldwide final energy demand almost
doubles from 293 EJ in 2005 to 571 EJ in 2050 and
primary energy supply increases from 439 EJ in 2005
to 867 EJ in 2050 (excluding non-energy use). It is
estimated that, by exploiting the technical potential
for energy efficiency improvement in energy demand
sectors, this growth can be limited to 8% or 317 EJ
final energy demand and 473 EJ primary energy
supply in 2050. This corresponds to a potential for
demand-side energy efficiency improvement of 44%
in 2050, in comparison to reference energy use. In
addition, a potential exists for improving energy
efficiency in the transformation sector. In 2005, as
much as 33% of primary energy supply is lost in the
transformation and distribution of primary energy. It
is estimated that this share can be reduced to 19% in
2050 by, e.g. improving energy efficiency of fossilfired
power generation (assuming no changes in the
fuel mix for power generation). Including the potential
for energy efficiency improvement in energy demand
sectors, total primary energy supply would then
decrease by 10% from 439 EJ in 2005 to 393 EJ in
2050. This contributes to a total potential for energy
efficiency improvement of 55% in 2050 in comparison
to reference primary energy supply
Co-benefits of energy efficiency for air quality and health effects in China’s cement industry
No full text
