Thermodynamic, economic and environmental assessment of energy systems including the use of gas from manure fermentation in the context of the Spanish potential

One of the prospective technologies that can be used for energy generation in distributed systems is based on biogas production, usually involving fermentation of various types of biomass and waste. This article aims to bring novelty on the analysis of this type of systems, joining together thermodynamic, economic and environmental aspects for a cross-cutting evaluation of the proposed solutions. The analysis is made for Spain, for which such a solution is very promising due to availability of the feedstock. A detailed simulation model of the proposed system in two different cases was built in Aspen Plus software and Visual Basic for Applications. Case 1 involves production of biogas in manure fermentation process, its upgrading (cleaning and removal of CO2 from the gas) and injection to the grid. Case 2 assumes combustion of the biogas in gas engine to produce electricity and heat that can be used locally and/or sold to the grid. Thermodynamic assessment of these two cases was made to determine the most important parameters and evaluation indices. The results served as input values for the economic analysis and environmental evaluation through Life Cycle Assessment of the energy systems. The results show that the analysed technologies have potential to produce high-value products based on low-quality biomass. Economic evaluation determined the break-even price of biomethane (Case 1) and electricity (Case 2), which for the nominal assumptions reach the values of 16.77 €/GJ and 28.92 €/GJ, respectively. In terms of environmental assessment the system with the use of biogas in gas engine presents around three times better environmental profile than Case 1 in the two categories evaluated, i.e., carbon and energy footprint.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 799439. Dr. Martín-Gamboa states that thanks are due to FCT/MCTES for the financial support to CESAM (UID/AMB/50017/2019), through national funds

Revisiting the role of steam methane reforming with CO2 capture and storage for long-term hydrogen production

Road transport is associated with high greenhouse gas emissions due to its current dependence on fossil fuels. In this regard, the implementation of alternative fuels such as hydrogen is expected to play a key role in decarbonising the transport system. Nevertheless, attention should be paid to the suitability of hydrogen production pathways as low-carbon solutions. In this work, an energy systems optimisation model for the prospective assessment of a national hydrogen production mix was upgraded in order to unveil the potential role of grey hydrogen from steam methane reforming (SMR) and blue hydrogen from SMR with CO2 capture and storage (CCS) in satisfying the hydrogen demanded by fuel cell electric vehicles in Spain from 2020 to 2050. This was done by including CCS retrofit of SMR plants in the energy systems model, as a potential strategy within the scope of the European Hydrogen Strategy. Considering three hypothetical years for banning hydrogen from fossil-based plants without CCS (2030, 2035, and 2040), it was found that SMR could satisfy the whole demand for hydrogen for road transport in the short term (2020–2030), while being substituted by water electrolysis in the medium-to-long term (2030–2050). Furthermore, this trend was found to be associated with an appropriate prospective behaviour in terms of carbon footprint.This research has been partly supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (ENE2015-74607-JIN AEI/FEDER/UE)

Prospective techno-economic and environmental assessment of a national hydrogen production mix for road transport

Fuel cell electric vehicles arise as an alternative to conventional vehicles in the road transport sector. They could contribute to decarbonising the transport system because they have no direct CO2 emissions during the use phase. In fact, the life-cycle environmental performance of hydrogen as a transportation fuel focuses on its production. In this sense, through the case study of Spain, this article prospectively assesses the techno-economic and environmental performance of a national hydrogen production mix by following a methodological framework based on energy systems modelling enriched with endogenous carbon footprint indicators. Taking into account the need for a hydrogen economy based on clean options, alternative scenarios characterised by carbon footprint restrictions with respect to a fossil-based scenario dominated by steam methane reforming are evaluated. In these scenarios, the steam reforming of natural gas still arises as the key hydrogen production technology in the short term, whereas water electrolysis is the main technology in the medium and long term. Furthermore, in scenarios with very restrictive carbon footprint limits, biomass gasification also appears as a key hydrogen production technology in the long term. In the alternative scenarios assessed, the functional substitution of hydrogen for conventional fossil fuels in the road transport sector could lead to high greenhouse gas emission savings, ranging from 36 to 58 Mt CO2 eq in 2050. Overall, these findings and the model structure and characterisation developed for the assessment of hydrogen energy scenarios are expected to be relevant not only to the specific case study of Spain but also to analysts and decision-makers in a large number of countries facing similar concerns.This research has been partly supported by the Spanish Ministry ofEconomy, Industry and Competitiveness (ENE2015-74607-JIN AEI/FEDER/UE

Prospective energy security scenarios in Spain: The future role of renewable power generation technologies and climate change implications

Publisher Copyright: © 2018 Elsevier LtdEnergy security is a complex issue that arises as one of the main concerns for most of the countries when regarding the future. In this sense, given the acknowledged lack of future-oriented studies in this field, this article performs a prospective analysis of the energy security of a national energy system. This is done through a novel methodological framework combining Life Cycle Assessment and Energy Systems Modelling. In particular, the recently proposed Renewable Energy Security Index (RESI) is endogenously integrated into a national power generation model in order to prospectively evaluate the energy security of the Spanish electricity production mix. This facilitates the exploration of alternative energy security scenarios based on RESI targets and focused on the penetration of renewables. The results show that, despite the relatively high renewable contribution reached in a business-as-usual scenario, a significantly higher and faster renewable penetration is attained when implementing RESI targets of 70%, 80% and 90% by 2030 in Spain. This is found to be associated with a large deployment of (onshore and offshore) wind power generation technology. Finally, a favourable life-cycle climate change performance is found when pursuing ambitious energy security targets.This research has been partly supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness ( ENE2015-74607-JIN AEI/FEDER/UE ).Peer reviewe

Towards energy self-sufficiency in large metropolitan areas: Business opportunities on renewable electricity in Madrid

Publisher Copyright: © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018.Large metropolitan areas are generally associated with high energy demand but low energy production, thus acting as vast energy drains. Reducing energy import levels in this type of region may bring about relevant business opportunities. Given the increasingly significant role of green (low-carbon) energy in current and future energy policies, these opportunities are expected to be closely linked to renewable energy. In this chapter, the energy system model of the region of Madrid (Spain) is used to evaluate novel energy scenarios to 2050 based on alternative electricity import levels. As indigenous electricity supply increases, wider market horizons arise for renewable energy technologies as a plausible option. Overall, through the case study of Madrid, it is shown that the path towards clean energy self-sufficiency has the potential to act as an effective catalyst for business opportunities on renewables in large metropolitan areas.Peer reviewe

Prospective analysis of energy security: A practical life-cycle approach focused on renewable power generation and oriented towards policy-makers

Publisher Copyright: © 2017 Elsevier LtdEnergy security is a wide-ranging term to encompass issues such as security of supply, reliability of infrastructures, affordability and environmental friendliness. This article develops a robust indicator – the Renewable Energy Security Index, RESI – to enrich the body of knowledge associated with the presence of renewable energy technologies within national electricity production mixes. RESI is built by combining environmental life cycle assessment and techno-economic energy systems modelling. Spain and Norway are used as illustrative case studies for the prospective analysis of power generation from an energy security standpoint. In the Spanish case, with a diversified electricity production mix and a growing presence of renewable technologies, RESI favourably “evolves” from 0.36 at present to 0.65 in 2050 in a business-as-usual scenario, reaching higher values in a highly-restricted CO2scenario. The Norwegian case study attains RESI values similar to 1 due to the leading role of renewable electricity (mainly hydropower) regarding both satisfaction of national demand and exportation of electricity surplus. A widespread use of RESI as a quantifiable energy security index of national power generation sectors is found to be feasible and practical for both analysts and energy policy-makers, covering a significant number of energy security aspects.Peer reviewe

Is coal extension a sensible option for energy planning? A combined energy systems modelling and life cycle assessment approach

Publisher Copyright: © 2017 Elsevier LtdAs in many countries, coal-fired power plants in Spain account for a significant contribution to the electricity mix. Nevertheless, renewable energy options and natural gas are paving the way for coal retirement. Alternatively, it is possible to reduce the emissions (especially SO2 and NOx) associated with coal combustion through technology retrofits focused on desulphurisation and denitrification in line with the EU Industrial Emissions Directive. Within a context of low coal and CO2 prices, lifetime extension of coal-fired plants emerges as an option for power plant owners. This article prospectively evaluates the announced retrofit for 3560 MW of the Spanish coal power capacity under three alternative energy scenarios. In addition to prospective electricity production mixes, the evolution of key life-cycle sustainability indicators (climate change, human health, energy security) is assessed with time horizon 2050 using an enhanced energy systems optimisation model of power generation. When compared to the reference scenario, the results show that coal extension could favour the penetration of renewables in the long term. Notwithstanding, this would come at the expense of undesirable increases in climate change and human health impacts. Consequently, the implementation of the sustainability dimension in energy plans could avoid a “coal conundrum” situation in Spain.Peer reviewe

Prospective life cycle assessment of the Spanish electricity production

Publisher Copyright: © 2016 Elsevier LtdThis paper presents a set of prospective LCA studies of electricity production technologies of the Spanish mix from 2014 to 2050. The projection of the power system has been done by using the TIMES-Spain energy model, in which two prospective scenarios have been implemented, a Business as Usual (BaU) and other with a target of 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 with respect to 2005 levels. Accordingly, projections of ten LCA impact categories have been obtained. Concerning the evolution of the electricity mix, the coal power plants retirement by 2020 has been observed in both scenarios. The main differences befall on the natural gas contribution, higher in the BaU scenario than in 80% scenario and connected to the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants usage. In addition, LCA categories selected show overall reductions in the long term reaching from 21% in Ozone Depletion to 85% in Acidification in the BaU scenario, and from 56% in Ecosystems to 87% in Acidification in the 80% scenario. However, Abiotic Depletion potential grows up to 5-times by 2050 due to the metal requirements of the solar photovoltaic technologies, significantly present in the mix. Likewise, the analysis of the endpoint categories (Human Health and Ecosystems) concludes that their evolution is much affected by the presence of the natural gas CHPs and, furthermore, existing fossil options are the main cause of damage by far. Hence a fossil-renewable transition is needed in terms of sustainability. In summary, it is recommended to use energy systems modelling frameworks to develop comprehensive prospective LCA studies.Peer reviewe

A review of techno-economic data for road transportation fuels

Publisher Copyright: © 2019 The AuthorsWorldwide, the road transport sector typically arises as one of the main sources of air pollutants due to its high energy intensity and the use of fossil fuels. Thus, governments and social agents work on the development and prospective planning of decarbonisation strategies oriented towards sustainable transport. In this regard, the increase in the use of alternative fuels is the recurrent approach to energy planning, e.g. through the promotion of electric vehicles, biofuels, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, etc. However, there is a lack of comprehensive information on the techno-economic performance of production pathways for alternative fuels. The acquisition of robust techno-economic data is still a challenge for energy planners, modellers, analysts and policy-makers when building their prospective models to support decision-making processes. Hence, this article aims to fill this gap through a deep literature review including the most representative production routes for a wide range of road transportation fuels. This led to the development of datasets including investment costs, operating and maintenance costs, and transformation efficiencies for more than 40 production pathways. The techno-economic data presented in this work are expected to be especially useful to those energy actors interested in performing long-term studies on the transition to a sustainable transport system.This research has been partly supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (ENE2015-74607-JIN AEI/FEDER/UE). This research has been partly supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness ( ENE2015-74607-JIN AEI/FEDER/UE ).Peer reviewe

Life-cycle consequences of internalising socio-environmental externalities of power generation

Publisher Copyright: © 2017 Elsevier B.V.Current national energy sectors are generally unsustainable. Within this context, energy policy-makers face the need to move from economy- to sustainability-oriented schemes. Beyond the integration of the sustainability concept into energy policies through the implementation of techno-economic, environmental and/or social restrictions, other approaches propose the use of externalities –based on life-cycle emissions– to deeply take into account sustainability in the design of the future energy system. In this sense, this work evaluates the consequences of internalising socio-environmental externalities associated with power generation. Besides the calculation of external costs of power generation technologies and their implementation in an energy systems optimisation model for Spain, the life-cycle consequences of this internalisation are explored. This involves the prospective analysis of the evolution of the sustainability indicators on which the externalities are founded, i.e. climate change and human health. For the first time, this is done by endogenously integrating the life-cycle indicators into the energy systems optimisation model. The results show that the internalisation of externalities highly influences the evolution of the electricity production mix as well as the corresponding life-cycle profile, hastening the decarbonisation of the power generation system and thus leading to a significant decrease in life-cycle impacts. This effect is observed both when internalising only climate change externalities and when internalising additionally human health external costs.This research has been partly supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness ( ENE2015-74607-JIN AEI/FEDER/UE ).Peer reviewe