Abstract
Energy security on islands is a challenging issue due to their isolation from energy markets and fossil fuel dependence. In addition, islands’ average energy intensity has increased in recent years due to economic development. This research explores the environmental performance of two alternative non-variable bioelectricity feedstocks to increase energy resilience on islands. The study was developed for the Galápagos islands to address the environmental impacts from the direct use of waste cooking oil (WCO) and refined palm oil (RPO) to produce 1 MWh using the life cycle assessment methodological framework. A combination of primary and secondary data sources was used. The results show better performance for the electricity derived from WCO in all the impact categories considered when compared to RPO.
Highlights
The energy share of most islands is highly dependent on imported fossil fuels, which exposes them to volatile oil prices, limits economic development, and degrades local natural resources
The goal of this study is to evaluate from an environmental perspective two biomass alternatives for the generation of electricity on islands: refined palm oil (RPO) and waste cooking oil (WCO)
The goal of the present study is to evaluate impacts through a complete life cycle assessment of electricity produced from two potential biofuel sources, (a) refined palm oil (RPO) produced on continental land and (b) locally produced clean waste cooking oil (WCO) in line with Circular Economy (CE) precepts, and to evaluate whether the production and use of new biofuels can help to reduce fossil fuel imports to islands
Summary
The energy share of most islands is highly dependent on imported fossil fuels, which exposes them to volatile oil prices, limits economic development, and degrades local natural resources. In the island countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), 89.7% of the total installed electricity capacity corresponds to fossil fuel technologies and just 10.2% comes from renewables [2]. Between the years 2000 and 2015, the average energy intensity (total energy consumption/GDP) in islands has increased by 23.4% with a corresponding emission intensity (total emissions/GDP) increase by 12.4% [3]. This ongoing energy dependence fails to establish a precedent for global action to mitigate the long-term consequences of climate change, which pose a acute threat to islands.
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