Abstract
Renewable energy systems are especially challenging both in terms of planning and operation. Energy system models that take into account not only the costs but also a wide range of environmental impacts support holistic planning. In this way, burden-shifting caused by greenhouse gas mitigation can be identified and minimised at an early stage. The Life cycle Assessment based ENergy Decision support tool LAEND combines a multi-criteria optimising tool for energy system modelling and an integrated environmental assessment for the analysis of decentral systems. By a single or multi-objective optimisation, considering costs, environmental impact indicators as well as weighted impact indicator sets, the model enables the determination of optimal investment planning and dispatch of the analysed energy system. The application of LAEND to an exemplary residential quarter shows the benefit of the model regarding the identification of conflicting goals and of a system that compensates for the different objectives. The observed shift of environmental impacts from the use phase to the production phase of the renewable electricity generators points further to the importance of the integration of the entire life cycle.
Highlights
Energy is needed for economic activities and to secure the economic welfare of nations as energy use and gross domestic product bear bidirectional causality [1–3]
The energy sector is responsible for 47% of the worldwide anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions between 2000 and 2010 and contributes significantly to further environmental impacts [4,6]
We present a hybrid model for a residential quarter with an applicable level of detail
Summary
Energy is needed for economic activities and to secure the economic welfare of nations as energy use and gross domestic product bear bidirectional causality [1–3]. García-Gusano et al integrate life cycle indicators into energy optimisation models in the case of the Norwegian and the Spanish electricity systems. They take into account selected midpoint (like climate change, ozone depletion) and endpoint impact categories (such as human health or ecosystem quality) but follow a single criterion techno-economic optimisation. The developed MOrOSA (Multi-Objective Optimisation Sustainability Assessment) framework considers all relevant products and processes of the global supply chain and takes into account an extensive set of impact categories. The reviewed studies either represent the multi-criteria objective of an environmental assessment by cost optimisation solved under a limitation on GHG emissions or by early weighting procedures providing aggregated results.
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