Abstract
The aim of this study is to assess the environmental impact of storage systems integrated with energy plants powered by renewable sources. Stationary storage systems proved to be a valid solution for regulating networks, supporting frequency, and managing peaks in electricity supply and demand. Recently, their coupling with renewable energy sources has been considered a strategic means of exploiting their high potential since it permits them to overcome their intrinsic uncertainty. Therefore, the storage systems integration with distributed generation can improve the performance of the networks and decrease the costs associated with energy production. However, a question remains regarding the overall environmental sustainability of the final energy production. Focusing on electrochemical accumulators, the problems mainly concern the use of heavy metals and/or impacting chemical components of storage at the center of environmental hazard debates. In this paper, an environmental assessment from a life-cycle perspective of the hybrid energy systems powered by fossil and renewable sources located on two non-interconnected minor islands is presented. Existing configurations are compared with new ones obtained with the addition of batteries for the exploitation of renewable energy. The results show that, for batteries, the assembly phase, including raw material extraction, transport, and assembly, accounts for about 40% of the total, while the remaining part is related to end-of-life processes. The reuse and recycling of the materials have a positive effect on overall impacts. The results also show that the overall impact is strongly related to the actual energy mix of the place where batteries are installed, even if it is usually lower than that of the solution without the batteries. The importance of a proper definition of the functional unit in the analysis is also emphasized in this work.
Highlights
IntroductionA considerable change in the energy mix took place. The main driver is the penetration of non-predictable renewable energy sources (NPRESs) into the electricity grid pushed by the more and more urgent environmental requirements.Since the Kyoto conference of 1997, when over 160 representatives of different countries established the objectives to shrink greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the increase of the use of renewable energy sources (RESs) was considered one of the key mechanisms to reach the overall goals.In 2010, the European Union (EU) promoted its solution in the field of environment and sustainability, as a natural consequence of the expiration of the 2012 Kyoto protocol.Three environmental objectives were established: a 20% reduction in GHG emissions compared to the 1990 level; a 20% rise in the use of energy from RES; and a 20% increase in energy efficiency
In the recent years, a considerable change in the energy mix took place
In the results presented in this work, for Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) a life of 13,000 cycles is considered, while for the other batteries it is expected to be equal to 5000 cycles, and the life in years depended on the charge–discharge history of the batteries in each scenario
Summary
A considerable change in the energy mix took place. The main driver is the penetration of non-predictable renewable energy sources (NPRESs) into the electricity grid pushed by the more and more urgent environmental requirements.Since the Kyoto conference of 1997, when over 160 representatives of different countries established the objectives to shrink greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the increase of the use of renewable energy sources (RESs) was considered one of the key mechanisms to reach the overall goals.In 2010, the European Union (EU) promoted its solution in the field of environment and sustainability, as a natural consequence of the expiration of the 2012 Kyoto protocol.Three environmental objectives were established: a 20% reduction in GHG emissions compared to the 1990 level; a 20% rise in the use of energy from RES; and a 20% increase in energy efficiency. The main driver is the penetration of non-predictable renewable energy sources (NPRESs) into the electricity grid pushed by the more and more urgent environmental requirements. Since the Kyoto conference of 1997, when over 160 representatives of different countries established the objectives to shrink greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the increase of the use of renewable energy sources (RESs) was considered one of the key mechanisms to reach the overall goals. Three environmental objectives were established: a 20% reduction in GHG emissions compared to the 1990 level; a 20% rise in the use of energy from RES; and a 20% increase in energy efficiency. The EU members with the “2030 Framework for Climate and Energy” [1] established a 40% reduction of the GHG emissions from 1990 levels, a 27%
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