Abstract
PurposeLife cycle sustainability analysis (LCSA) is being developed as a holistic tool to evaluate environmental, economic and social impacts of products or services throughout their life cycle. This study responds to the need expressed by the scientific community to develop and test LCSA methodology, by assessing the sustainability of a concentrated solar power (CSP) plant based on HYSOL technology (an innovative configuration delivering improved efficiency and power dispatchability).MethodsThe methodology proposed consists of three stages: goal and scope definition, modelling and application of tools, and interpretation of results. The goal of the case study was to investigate to what extent may the HYSOL technology improve the sustainability of power generation in the Spanish electricity sector. To this purpose, several sustainability sub-questions were framed and different analysis tools were applied as follows: attributional and consequential life cycle assessment, life cycle cost (LCC) analysis and multiregional input-output analysis (MRIO), and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) in combination with social risk assessment (with the Social Hotspots Database). Visual diagrams representing the sustainability of the analysed scenarios were also produced to facilitate the interpretation of results and decision making.Results and discussionThe results obtained in the three sustainability dimensions were integrated using a “questions and answers” layout, each answer describing a specific element of sustainability. The HYSOL technology was investigated considering two different operation modes: HYSOL BIO with biomethane as hybridization fuel and HYSOL NG with natural gas. The results indicated that the deployment of HYSOL technology would produce a reduction in the climate change impact of the electricity sector for both operation modes. The LCC analysis indicated economic benefits per MWh for a HYSOL NG power plant, but losses for a HYSOL BIO power plant. The MRIO analysis indicated an increase in goods and services generation, and value added for the HYSOL technology affecting primarily Spain and to a lower extent other foreign economies. The social analysis indicated that both alternatives would provide a slight increase of social welfare Spain.ConclusionsThe methodological approach described in this investigation provided flexibility in the selection of objectives and analysis tools, which helped to quantify the sustainability effect of the system at a micro and meso level in the three sustainability dimensions. The results indicated that the innovation of HYSOL power plants is well aimed to improve the sustainability of CSP technology and the Spanish electricity sector.
Highlights
Over the past three decades, sustainability has grown to become a central element in the agenda of policy makers, businesses, non-governmental organizations, scientists and the civil society as a whole
This paper responds to the need expressed by the Life cycle assessment (LCA) community to test the practical application of life cycle-based sustainability assessment on different products and services following a scientific, systematic and quantitative approach
The described case study investigates the use of Life cycle sustainability analysis (LCSA) to evaluate the sustainability of deploying a novel hybrid solar power technology (HYSOL) in Spain
Summary
Over the past three decades, sustainability has grown to become a central element in the agenda of policy makers, businesses, non-governmental organizations, scientists and the civil society as a whole. The first systematic methodology aimed at evaluating the sustainability of products and services using a life cycle perspective dates back to 1987, and it has been attributed to the Oeko-Institut (Germany) (Kloepffer 2008; Nzila et al 2012). A fundamental step ahead in this field was attributed to the Coordination Action for innovation in Life Cycle Analysis for Sustainability (CALCAS (2006–2009), a research project financed by the European Commission (Zamagni et al 2009) that sets the principles of modern life cycle-based sustainability assessments (LCSA) This was followed by other actions aimed at improving, standardizing, testing and promoting the use of this methodology. Noteworthy among these are the EUfunded PROSUITE (2009–2013) project (Blok et al 2013), the UNEP/SETAC life cycle initiative (UNEP/SETAC 2015), the SETAC Europe 18th LCA Case Study workshop in LCSA (Cinelli et al 2013) and the special issues on LCSA published by the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment (Zamagni 2012; Zamagni et al 2013)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
