Eco-efficiency improvement of Western Australian remote area power supply

Abstract

Hybrid energy systems have been used in remote area power supply (RAPS) systems to assist in the development and deployment of renewable energy. Part of its benefit is the reduction of CO2 emissions from the decreased utilisation of fossil-fuelled electricity generation and the reduction in operation and maintenance cost as fossil fuel consumption is offset. This study uses an eco-efficiency analysis (EEA) framework to explore the environmental and economic performance of the current hybrid RAPS systems in Western Australia. The framework integrates life cycle assessment (LCA), eco-efficiency strategies, life cycle costing (LCC) and eco-efficiency portfolio analysis to propose eco-efficiency improvement of these systems. The results show that improving the load restriction of diesel engines, installing exhaust gas recirculation on diesel engines and installing rooftop solar PV on the residential houses of the RAPS system could potentially reduce life cycle CO2 emissions by 9% and the life cycle cost by 1%. The EEA framework presented in this study is expected to provide relevant information to assist energy planners and policy makers for further development and deployment of renewable energy in Australia.