Life Cycle Performance of Various Energy Sources Used in the Czech Republic

Markéta Šerešová,Petr Wolf,Jiří Štefanica,Monika Vitvarová,Vladimír Kočí,Kristina Zakuciová

doi:10.3390/en13215833

Markéta Šerešová, Petr Wolf + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/en13215833

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Abstract

As both the human population and living standards grow, so does the worldwide electricity demand. However, the power sector is also one of the biggest environmental polluters. Therefore, options are currently being sought aimed at reducing environmental impacts, one of the potential tools for which concerns the use of life cycle assessment. This study, therefore, focuses on the most commonly used nonrenewable (black coal, lignite, natural gas and nuclear) and renewable sources (wind, hydro and photovoltaic) in the Czech Republic in terms of their construction, operation, and decommissioning periods. Environmental impacts are assessed via the use of selected impact categories by way of product environmental footprint methodology. The results highlight the potential environmental impacts associated with electricity generation for each of the primary energy sources. Black coal and lignite power plants were found to contribute most to the global warming, resource use, energy carriers and respiratory inorganics categories. On the other hand, the impact on water depletion and resource use, mineral and metals categories were found to be most significantly affected by the production of electricity from photovoltaic power plants. Finally, it is proposed that the results be employed to design scenarios for the future energy mix.

Highlights

Electricity consumption is rising sharply in parallel with the increasing standard of living of the world’s population
The energy mixtures of most countries in the world are based on the utilization of fossil fuel, directly coal [2], a form of production that exerts substantial environmental impacts via the production of up to 30% of all global CO2 emissions [1]
The decommissioning phase exerts marginal impacts compared to the other phases

Summary

Introduction

Electricity consumption is rising sharply in parallel with the increasing standard of living of the world’s population. The energy mixtures of most countries in the world are based on the utilization of fossil fuel, directly coal [2], a form of production that exerts substantial environmental impacts via the production of up to 30% of all global CO2 emissions [1]. It is CO2 emissions, and other significant environmental impacts such as water consumption, that have led to efforts to decentralize the production of energy and to enhance environmental security [3].

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