Abstract
This paper aims to evaluate the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of importing electrical power into Singapore, generated from a large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Australia, through a long-distance subsea high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable. A cost optimization model was developed to estimate the capacities of the system components. A comprehensive life cycle assessment model was built to estimate emissions of manufacturing and use of these components. Our evaluation shows that, for covering one fifth of Singapore’s electrical energy needs, a system with an installed capacity of 13GWPV, 17 GWh battery storage and 3.2GW subsea cable is required. The life cycle GHG emissions of such a system are estimated to be 110gCO2eq/kWh, with the majority coming from the manufacturing of solar PV panels. Cable manufacturing does not contribute largely toward GHG emissions. By varying full-load hours and cable lengths, it was assessed that sites closer to Singapore might provide the same energy at same/lower carbon footprint and reduced cost, despite the lower insolation as compared to Australia. However, these sites could cause greater emissions from land use changes than the deserts of Australia, offsetting the advantages of a shorter HVDC cable.
Highlights
A 3800-km subsea high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable starts in Darwin and ends in Singapore
We focus on the impact of the effective solar potential and the length of the subsea HVDC cable to Singapore
The life cycle emissions associated with the import of electricity generated from large scale solar PV panels in Australia into Singapore through a long-distance subsea
Summary
A city-state located in Southeast Asia near the equator, committed to reducing its emission intensity by 36% by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. From 2030 onward, the emission intensity is to remain at this value [1]. With 95% of Singapore’s electricity being generated from natural gas [1], Singapore needs to identify low-carbon power generation alternatives to meet its long-term emission goals. With its small land area of 725 km , Singapore’s options to deploy renewable energy sources are strongly limited. The only viable source of renewable energy within Singapore is identified to be solar photovoltaic (PV) installations on rooftops and facades of buildings or floating PV installations on water surfaces [3]. As space is limited, this is estimated to cover a maximum of 7.4% of its electricity demand by 2050. As space is limited, this is estimated to cover a maximum of 7.4% of its electricity demand by 2050. [4]
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