Quantifying the ecosystem services values of electricity generation in the US Chihuahuan Desert: A life cycle perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah M. Jordaan ◽  
Junghun Lee ◽  
Maureen R. McClung ◽  
Matthew D. Moran
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Chihuahuan Desert ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
The Us

A life cycle perspective on the land use and ecosystem services of energy transitions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Jordaan
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Industrial Ecology ◽  
Chihuahuan Desert ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ecosystem Impacts ◽  
Energy Transitions ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective

<p>Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a cradle-to-grave method that quantifies the environmental impacts of products and processes from materials extraction to waste disposal.  While LCA is frequently applied to better understand greenhouse gas emissions, land use is much less explored.  The relationship between energy infrastructure and land use will be explored using a life cycle perspective, elucidating impacts related to an energy transition to high growth in renewable energy.  Renewable power is often correlated with higher land use than its fossil fuel counterparts, but it is increasingly recognized that more consistent, robust methods are required to confirm such results.  By developing a systematic method to estimate the life cycle land use of electricity generated from natural gas in the Barnett shale region of Texas, recent results suggest that the land use of gas-fired power can be comparable to renewable options.  Going beyond land use alone, ecosystem services provide a useful approach to characterizing impacts associated with land use. Using the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) framework, both land requirements and ecosystem services can be quantified using a life cycle perspective.  An analysis of three types of power plants in the United States portion of the Chihuahuan Desert – natural gas, solar, and wind – provides insight into the ecosystem impacts of energy transitions.  Our results suggest that wind development in the region ranks lowest in terms of both land requirements (in meters squared per Megawatt-hour (m<sup>2</sup>/MWh)) and ecosystem services value (in dollars per MWh), followed by natural gas-fired electricity then solar.  Ecosystem services costs for developments in this region are low relative to levelized costs of electricity (<5%) but are subject to relatively low values compared to other regions - results will vary with regionalized ecosystem services values and different products.  Methods and results will illuminate areas of future research for better understanding land use and ecosystem impacts of energy transitions.</p><p>References</p><p>Jordaan, S.M., Heath, G.A., Macknick, J., Bush, B.W., Mohammadi, E., Ben-Horin, D., Urrea, V. and Marceau, D., 2017. Understanding the life cycle surface land requirements of natural gas-fired electricity. Nature Energy, 2(10), p.804.</p><p>Jordaan, S. M., J. Lee., M. McClung, and M. Moran (in press). Quantifying the ecosystem services of electricity generation in the U.S. Chihuahuan Desert using a life cycle perspective.  Journal of Industrial Ecology.</p>

Assessing the sustainability of the US food system: a life cycle perspective

2003 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 1007-1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin C Heller ◽  
Gregory A Keoleian
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Food System ◽  
System A ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
The Us

scholarly journals Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Refrigerator Modelled with Application of Various Electricity Mixes and Technologies

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 5350
Author(s):  
Anna Lewandowska ◽  
Przemysław Kurczewski ◽  
Katarzyna Joachimiak-Lechman ◽  
Marek Zabłocki
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Tracking Systems ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
Environmental Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Electricity Systems

Improving national electricity mixes and increasing a share of renewable energy covered by credible and reliable tracking systems are vital topics, also in a context of life cycle assessment. There are many publications devoted to the relevance of energy in the life cycle of products, but only few LCA examples applying residual mixes have been found in the literature. The paper presents the results of an LCA study for a refrigerator calculated with using different electricity mixes and technologies. The life cycle was divided into eight stages and the electricity consumption was modelled as renewable energy, national residual mix, or national supplier mix. Electricity mixes for three different countries were selected and used. The study aimed to answer the following questions: “what are the most relevant elements in the life cycle of the analysed refrigerator?”, “do the elements change if various electricity mixes are applied?”, and “what differences are there in the environmental impact of electricity generation modelled as residual and supplier mixes?”. From the life cycle perspective, not only may differences in national electricity systems between countries turn out to be important, but equally significant may be the choice between different types of mixes for a certain country.

Is biomass energy really clean? An environmental life-cycle perspective on biomass-based electricity generation in China

2016 ◽  
Vol 133 ◽  
pp. 767-776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changqing Xu ◽  
Jinglan Hong ◽  
Jianmei Chen ◽  
Xiaofei Han ◽  
Chen Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective

LINKING INTERNATIONAL HIGH-TECH NEW VENTURES' FIRM LIFE CYCLE TO INTERNATIONALIZATION, ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING, AND ALLIANCE NETWORKS

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (02) ◽  
pp. 175-197
Author(s):  
CHING-SUNG WU ◽  
CHIH-SHENG HSU
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
High Tech ◽  
International New Ventures ◽  
Firm Life Cycle ◽  
Alliance Networks ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
The Us ◽  
External Characteristics

Drawing from recent research on the international new ventures' (INVs) internal and external characteristics and conditions, this article explores the trajectory of growth for high-tech INVs from firms' life cycle perspective, and examines the divergent features of INVs, including internationalization, organizational learning, and alliance network, at various stages of development. Our findings are based on information from a database covering 226 INV firms funded in the US after 1980. We suggest that INVs' features are different at various stages of their life cycle, and develop dynamically under divergent conditions.

PADDY RESIDUE AS FEEDSTOCK IN ELECTRICITY GENERATION: REDEMPTION OF LIFE CYCLE EMISSIONS AND COST ANALYSIS

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (Number 1) ◽  
pp. 55-67
Author(s):  
Shafini M. Shafie ◽  
Zakirah Othman ◽  
N Hami
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Cost Analysis ◽  
Positive Feedback ◽  
Energy Supply ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Economic Sector ◽  
Ghg Emission ◽  
Coal Fuel ◽  
Biomass Resources

Malaysia has an abundance of biomass resources that can be utilised for power generation. One of them is paddy residue. Paddy residue creates ahuge potential in the power generation sector. The consumption of paddy residue can help Malaysia become less dependent on conventional sources of energy, mitigate greenhouse gas(GHG) emission, offer positive feedback in the economic sector, and at the same time, provide thebest solution for waste management activities. The forecast datafor 20 years on electricity generation wasused to calculate the GHG emission and its saving when paddy residue is used for electricity generation. The government’scost saving was also identified when paddy residue substituted coal fuel in electricity generation.This paper can provide forecast information so that Malaysia is able to move forward to apply paddy residue as feedstock in energy supply. Hopefully, the data achieved can encourage stakeholder bodies in the implementation of paddy residue inelectricity generation since there is apositive impact towardscost and emission saving.

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