Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Selected Hindu Kush–Himalayan Countries

Energy-related activities are a major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A growing body of knowledge clearly depicts the links between human activities and climate change. Over the last century the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil and other human activities has released carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other heat-trapping GHG emissions into the atmosphere and thus increased the concentration of atmospheric CO2 emissions. The main human activities that emit CO2 emissions are (1) the combustion of fossil fuels to generate electricity, accounting for about 37% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 31% of total U.S. GHG emissions in 2013, (2) the combustion of fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel to transport people and goods, accounting for about 31% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 26% of total U.S. GHG emissions in 2013, and (3) industrial processes such as the production and consumption of minerals and chemicals, accounting for about 15% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 12% of total ...

Mitigating Curtailment and Carbon Emissions through Load Migration between Data Centers

Carbon sequestration in golf course soils has received some attention, but energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from golf course turfgrass maintenance are poorly quantified. This study developed a model to estimate energy consumption and GHG emissions from golf turf maintenance and applied the model to 14 golf courses located in the northern USA over a 3‐yr period. Energy use and GHG emissions that result from golf course maintenance operations were divided into three scopes. Scope 1 consisted of onsite emissions (n = 14), Scope 2 consisted of offsite emissions (n = 7), and Scope 3 consisted of supply chain (upstream) emissions (n = 7). Scope 1 emissions primarily result from onsite fuel use, Scope 2 emissions primarily result from offsite electricity generation, and Scope 3 emissions primarily result from the production and transport of goods and materials (e.g., machines, fertilizers, pesticides) to the golf course. All scopes were combined to calculate total energy use and emissions (n = 4). Mean area‐normalized Scope 1 energy use was 24 GJ ha–1 yr–1, mean Scope 2 energy use was 7 GJ ha–1 yr–1, mean Scope 3 energy use was 40 GJ ha–1 yr–1 and the mean of all scopes was 72 GJ ha–1 yr–1. Mean area‐normalized Scope 1 emissions were 1,599 kg CO2e ha–1 yr–1, mean Scope 2 emissions were 1,012 kg CO2e ha–1 yr–1, mean Scope 3 emissions were 1,847 kg CO2e ha–1 yr–1 and the mean of all scopes was 4,277 kg CO2e ha–1 yr–1. Fuel and electricity use accounted for 63% of all GHG emissions. Electrifying golf course maintenance equipment and sourcing electricity generated from renewable sources are likely the most effective ways for golf course turfgrass maintenance emissions to be reduced.

China has ambitious goals for economic development, and mustfind ways to power the achievement of those goals that are bothenvironmentally and socially sustainable. Integration into the globaleconomy presents opportunities for technological improvement and accessto energy resources. China also has options for innovative policies andmeasures that could significantly alter the way energy is acquired andused. These opportunities andoptions, along with long-term social,demographic, and economic trends, will shape China s future energysystem, and consequently its contribution to emissions of greenhousegases, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2). In this study, entitled China sSustainable Energy Future: Scenarios of Energy and Carbon Emissions, theEnergy Research Institute (ERI), an independent analytic organizationunder China's Na tional Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), soughtto explore in detail how China could achieve the goals of the TenthFive-Year Plan and its longer term aims through a sustainable developmentstrategy. China's ability to forge a sustainable energy path has globalconsequences. China's annual emissions of greenhouse gases comprisenearly half of those from developing countries, and 12 percent of globalemissions. Most of China's greenhouse gas emissions are in the form ofCO2, 87 percent of which came from energy use in 2000. In that year,China's carbon emissions from energy use and cement production were 760million metric tons (Mt-C), second only to the 1,500 Mt-C emitted by theUS (CDIAC, 2003). As China's energy consumption continues to increase,greenhouse gas emissions are expected to inevitably increase into thefuture. However, the rate at which energy consumption and emissions willincrease can vary significantly depending on whether sustainabledevelopment is recognized as an important policy goal. If the ChineseGovernment chooses to adopt measures to enhance energy efficiency andimprove the overall structure of energy supply, it is possible thatfuture economic growth may be supported by a relatively lower increase inenergy consumption. Over the past 20 years, energy intensity in China hasbeen reduced partly through technological and structural changes; currentannual emissions may be as much as 600 Mt-C lower than they would havebeen without intensity improvements. China must take into account itsunique circumstances in considering how to achieve a sustainabledevelopment path. This study considers the feasibility of such anachievement, while remaining open to exploring avenues of sustainabledevelopment that may be very different from existing models. Threescenarios were prepared to assist the Chinese Government to explore theissues, options and uncertainties that it confronts in shaping asustainable development path compatible with China's uniquecircumstances. The Promoting Sustainability scenario offers a systematicand complete interpretation of the social and economic goals proposed inthe Tenth Five-Year Plan. The possibility that environmentalsustainability would receive low priority is covered in the OrdinaryEffort scenario. Aggressive pursuit of sustainable development measuresalong with rapid economic expansion is featured in the Green Growthscenario. The scenarios differ in the degree to which a common set ofenergy supply and efficiency policies are implemented. In cons ultationwith technology and policy experts domestically and abroad, ERI developedstrategic scenarios and quantified them using an energy accounting model.The scenarios consider, in unprecedented detail, changes in energy demandstructure and technology, as well as energy supply, from 1998 to 2020.The scenarios in this study are an important step in estimating realistictargets for energy efficiency and energy supply development that are inline with a sustainable development strategy. The scenarios also helpanalyze and explore ways in which China might slow growth in greenhousegas emissions. The key results have important policy implications:Depending on how demand for energy services is met, China could quadrupleits gross domestic product between 1998 and 2020 with energy use risingby 70 percent to 130 percent (Figure 1). Continual progress in improvingthe efficiency and structure of industry is crucial to maintainingeconomic growth with minimal growth in energy use. In some industries,output may grow with no rise in energy use at all. Swelling ranks ofmotor vehicles will deepen China's dependence on imported oil up to 320Mt per year by 2020 an amount that global markets can easily supply. Tomoderate growth in transportation energy use, the strong promotion ofconvenient public transport will be needed in addition to tighter fuelefficiency standards and advanced vehicles. Fuel switching, efficientappliances, better heating and cooling systems, and improved buildingenvelope technologies will be needed in the fast-growing buildingssector. By 2020, China will still b

Evaluation of region-specific residential energy systems for GHG reductions: Case studies in Canadian cities

Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory expanded the Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREET) model and incorporated the fuel economy and electricity use of alternative fuel/vehicle systems simulated by the Powertrain System Analysis Toolkit (PSAT) to conduct a well-to-wheels (WTW) analysis of energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The WTW results were separately calculated for the blended charge-depleting (CD) and charge-sustaining (CS) modes of PHEV operation and then combined by using a weighting factor that represented the CD vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) share. As indicated by PSAT simulations of the CD operation, grid electricity accounted for a share of the vehicle's total energy use, ranging from 6% for a PHEV 10 to 24% for a PHEV 40, based on CD VMT shares of 23% and 63%, respectively. In addition to the PHEV's fuel economy and type of on-board fuel, the marginal electricity generation mix used to charge the vehicle impacted the WTW results, especially GHG emissions. Three North American Electric Reliability Corporation regions (4, 6, and 13) were selected for this analysis, because they encompassed large metropolitan areas (Illinois, New York, and California, respectively) and provided a significant variation of marginal generation mixes. The WTW results were also reported for the U.S. generation mix and renewable electricity to examine cases of average and clean mixes, respectively. For an all-electric range (AER) between 10 mi and 40 mi, PHEVs that employed petroleum fuels (gasoline and diesel), a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline (E85), and hydrogen were shown to offer a 40-60%, 70-90%, and more than 90% reduction in petroleum energy use and a 30-60%, 40-80%, and 10-100% reduction in GHG emissions, respectively, relative to an internal combustion engine vehicle that used gasoline. The spread of WTW GHG emissions among the different fuel production technologies and grid generation mixes was wider than the spread of petroleum energy use, mainly due to the diverse fuel production technologies and feedstock sources for the fuels considered in this analysis. The PHEVs offered reductions in petroleum energy use as compared with regular hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). More petroleum energy savings were realized as the AER increased, except when the marginal grid mix was dominated by oil-fired power generation. Similarly, more GHG emissions reductions were realized at higher AERs, except when the marginal grid generation mix was dominated by oil or coal. Electricity from renewable sources realized the largest reductions in petroleum energy use and GHG emissions for all PHEVs as the AER increased. The PHEVs that employ biomass-based fuels (e.g., biomass-E85 and -hydrogen) may not realize GHG emissions benefits over regular HEVs if the marginal generation mix is dominated by fossil sources. Uncertainties are associated with the adopted PHEV fuel consumption and marginal generation mix simulation results, which impact the WTW results and require further research. More disaggregate marginal generation data within control areas (where the actual dispatching occurs) and an improved dispatch modeling are needed to accurately assess the impact of PHEV electrification. The market penetration of the PHEVs, their total electric load, and their role as complements rather than replacements of regular HEVs are also uncertain. The effects of the number of daily charges, the time of charging, and the charging capacity have not been evaluated in this study. A more robust analysis of the VMT share of the CD operation is also needed.

Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in organic and conventional farming systems in the Netherlands

As part of the Net Zero Carbon Water Cycle Program (NZCWCP) for Victoria state in Australia, we have sought to understand the potential to reduce household energy consumption and related Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by influencing water use. Digital metering data disaggregated into 57 million discrete water usage events across 105 households at a resolution of 10 millilitres at 10 second intervals from June 2017 to March 2020, from a previous Yarra Valley Water (Melbourne, Australia) study, was analysed, together with the dynamic relationship between the multiple energy sources (natural gas, grid electricity, solar) used to heat water for showers in each hour of the day. Water-related energy (WRE) use, including water desalination and treatment, pumping, heating, wastewater collection and treatment, comprised 12.6% of Australia’s primary energy use in 2019. Water heating (by natural gas and electricity) comprised the largest component of WRE use for across residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. Furthermore, 69% of Victoria’s total water usage was by residential customers in 2020-2021. WRE GHG emissions were around 3.8% of Victoria’s total GHG emissions in 2018. Showers (~50% of residential WRE), system losses (~27% of residential WRE), and clothes washers (~9% of residential WRE) are the three largest components of WRE consumption. The main objective of this work is the creation of industry-accessible tools to improve knowledge and management options from the understanding of reductions in cost and GHG emissions from household showering WRE use. Potential options considered, to reduce water and energy use, as well as associated GHG emissions and customer utility bills, include (a) behaviour management such as water and energy pricing to change time of use behaviours, and (b) the adoption of efficient shower head improvements. Shower WRE and GHG emissions were found able to be strongly impacted by small changes in daily routines. GHG emissions reduction from showering could be reduced up to 20 (in summer) - 22% (in winter) by shifting demand time of showering or replacing residential showerheads. Extrapolated to state and Australian scales, reductions in water usage could be up to 14 GL (Victoria) and 144 GL (Australia), and reductions in GHG emissions 1,600 ktCO2eq (Victoria) and 17,300 ktCO2eq (Australia). It provides fundamental new information which could inform a suite of new management options to impact water-related energy from showers, and related GHG emissions and customer water and energy cost.

The pyrolysis of biomass can help produce liquid transportation fuels with properties similar to those of petroleum gasoline and diesel fuel. Argonne National Laboratory conducted a life-cycle (i.e., well-to-wheels [WTW]) analysis of various pyrolysis pathways by expanding and employing the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model. The WTW energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the pyrolysis pathways were compared with those from the baseline petroleum gasoline and diesel pathways. Various pyrolysis pathway scenarios with a wide variety of possible hydrogen sources, liquid fuel yields, and co-product application and treatment methods were considered. At one extreme, when hydrogen is produced from natural gas and when bio-char is used for process energy needs, the pyrolysis-based liquid fuel yield is high (32% of the dry mass of biomass input). The reductions in WTW fossil energy use and GHG emissions relative to those that occur when baseline petroleum fuels are used, however, is modest, at 50% and 51%, respectively, on a per unit of fuel energy basis. At the other extreme, when hydrogen is produced internally via reforming of pyrolysis oil and when bio-char is sequestered in soil applications, the pyrolysis-based liquid fuel yield is low (15% of the dry mass of biomass input), but the reductions in WTW fossil energy use and GHG emissions are large, at 79% and 96%, respectively, relative to those that occur when baseline petroleum fuels are used. The petroleum energy use in all scenarios was restricted to biomass collection and transportation activities, which resulted in a reduction in WTW petroleum energy use of 92-95% relative to that found when baseline petroleum fuels are used. Internal hydrogen production (i.e., via reforming of pyrolysis oil) significantly reduces fossil fuel use and GHG emissions because the hydrogen from fuel gas or pyrolysis oil (renewable sources) displaces that from fossil fuel natural gas and the amount of fossil natural gas used for hydrogen production is reduced; however, internal hydrogen production also reduces the potential petroleum energy savings (per unit of biomass input basis) because the fuel yield declines dramatically. Typically, a process that has a greater liquid fuel yield results in larger petroleum savings per unit of biomass input but a smaller reduction in life-cycle GHG emissions. Sequestration of the large amount of bio-char co-product (e.g., in soil applications) provides a significant carbon dioxide credit, while electricity generation from bio-char combustion provides a large energy credit. The WTW energy and GHG emissions benefits observed when a pyrolysis oil refinery was integrated with a pyrolysis reactor were small when compared with those that occur when pyrolysis oil is distributed to a distant refinery, since the activities associated with transporting the oil between the pyrolysis reactors and refineries have a smaller energy and emissions footprint than do other activities in the pyrolysis pathway.

Life-cycle energy and greenhouse gas analysis of three building types in a residential area in Lisbon

New estimates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the food system were developed at the country level, for the period 1990–2018, integrating data from crop and livestock production, on-farm energy use, land use and land use change, domestic food transport and food waste disposal. With these new country-level components in place, and by adding global and regional estimates of energy use in food supply chains, we estimate that total GHG emissions from the food system were about 16 CO2eq yr−1 in 2018, or one-third of the global anthropogenic total. Three quarters of these emissions, 13 Gt CO2eq yr−1, were generated either within the farm gate or in pre- and post-production activities, such as manufacturing, transport, processing, and waste disposal. The remainder was generated through land use change at the conversion boundaries of natural ecosystems to agricultural land. Results further indicate that pre- and post-production emissions were proportionally more important in developed than in developing countries, and that during 1990–2018, land use change emissions decreased while pre- and post-production emissions increased. We also report results on a per capita basis, showing world total food systems per capita emissions decreasing during 1990–2018 from 2.9 to 2.2 t CO2eq cap−1, with per capita emissions in developed countries about twice those in developing countries in 2018. Our findings also highlight that conventional IPCC categories, used by countries to report emissions in the National GHG inventory, systematically underestimate the contribution of the food system to total anthropogenic emissions. We provide a comparative mapping of food system categories and activities in order to better quantify food-related emissions in national reporting and identify mitigation opportunities across the entire food system.

Carbon footprint and energy use of recycled fertilizers in arable farming

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is one of the major environmental concerns of shale gas development. To better understand this specific environmental impact, this chapter develops a hybrid life cycle inventory (LCI) model to estimate the energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of China’s shale gas development. Results suggest a total average energy use per well of 123 TJ (range: 74–165 TJ) and total average GHG emissions per well of 9505 tCO2e (range: 5346–13551 tCO2e). Most of the energy use and GHG emissions are indirect impacts embodied in fuels and materials. Energy use and GHG emissions from the drilling stage comprise the largest share in both totals due to large amounts of diesel used as fuel in the well drilling process and the materials used in the well casing process. Furthermore, the comparison shows that the energy use and GHG emissions of shale gas development in China will be much higher than the U.S.KeywordsShale gas developmentLife-cycle analysisGHG emissionsEnergy useEmbodied energy

The fuel-cycle energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the application of fuel cells to combined heat and power (CHP) generation and combined heat, hydrogen, and power (CHHP) generation are evaluated and compared with the combustion technologies of internal combustion engines and microturbines, as well as with the various technologies associated with hydrogen production and grid-electricity generation in the United States. Two types of fuel cells are considered in this analysis: a phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) capable of following either heat or electric load and a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) that typically follows the electric load. Three types of facilities (hospital, large office building, and warehouse) are examined in two different climatic regions (Chicago and Los Angeles) to span a wide range of electric-to-heat load ratios. Two different approaches for fuel cycle analysis of CHP and CHHP applications are considered in this analysis: a total demand approach and a displacement approach. The total demand approach provides an accurate assessment of the impact of actual demand on total energy use and GHG emissions, while the displacement approach projects the potential for more energy savings and GHG emissions benefits relative to the supply of electricity from the grid generation mix. The fuel cycle results are primarily impacted by the efficiencies of hydrogen production and electric power generation, as well as by the utility factor of the co-produced heat. The energy use and GHG emissions associated with the electric power generation represent the majority of the fuel-cycle’s total energy use and emissions for all pathways. More energy and GHG emissions benefits are realized from fuel cell technologies with increased use of available coproduced heat. In general, CHHP systems exhibit more energy and GHG emission benefits than CHP systems for any of the investigated fuel cell technologies.

The energy consumption pattern and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of any rice production system is important to know the sustainability of varied cultivation and establishment technique. This study was conducted to determine the energy use pattern, GHG emission and efficiency of rice farms in puddled transplanted (PTR, rainfed) and direct-seeded rice (DSR, irrigated) production systems in Karnataka, India. The energy indices and GHG emission of different input and output in a rice production system were assessed by using energy and carbon equivalence. The efficiency of PTR and DSR farms were identified using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and energy optimization was ascertained. The key finding was excessive use of non-renewable energy inputs was observed for the PTR (92.4%) compare to DSR (60.3%) methods. The higher energy use efficiency (7.3), energy productivity (0.3 kg MJ−1) and energy profitability (6.3) were mainly attributed to the large decrease in energy inputs under DSR. The DEA showed efficiency for 26 PTR farms in comparison for 87 DSR farms. The mean technical efficiency value highlighted the scope for saving energy by 6% and 2% in PTR and DSR, respectively and showed an economic reduction of $405.5/ha with PTR versus $163.3/ha with the DSR method if these inefficient farms perform efficiently. The GHG emissions revealed that the total emissions for PTR versus DSR production caused by on-farm emissions were 86% and 65%, respectively. The DSR method also had a higher carbon efficiency ratio and carbon sustainability index (10.1 and 9.1, respectively). Thus, adoption of DSR method is imperative for reduction of energy consumption and GHG emissions to achieve the carbon sustainability.