Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Trough and Tower Concentrating Solar Power Electricity Generation: Systematic Review and Harmonization

Journal Article · Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · Journal of Industrial Ecology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-9290.2012.00474.x· OSTI ID:1041365

Burkhardt, J J; Heath, G; Cohen, E

In reviewing life cycle assessment (LCA) literature of utility-scale concentrating solar power (CSP) systems, this analysis focuses on reducing variability and clarifying the central tendency of published estimates of life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through a meta-analytical process called harmonization. From 125 references reviewed, 10 produced 36 independent GHG emissions estimates passing screens for quality and relevance: 19 for parabolic trough (trough) technology and 17 for power tower (tower) technology. The interquartile range (IQR) of published estimates for troughs and towers were 83 and 20 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour (g CO2-eq/kWh),1 respectively; median estimates were 26 and 38 g CO2-eq/kWh for trough and tower, respectively. Two levels of harmonization were applied. Light harmonization reduced variability in published estimates by using consistent values for key parameters pertaining to plant design and performance. The IQR and median were reduced by 87% and 17%, respectively, for troughs. For towers, the IQR and median decreased by 33% and 38%, respectively. Next, five trough LCAs reporting detailed life cycle inventories were identified. The variability and central tendency of their estimates are reduced by 91% and 81%, respectively, after light harmonization. By harmonizing these five estimates to consistent values for global warming intensities of materials and expanding system boundaries to consistently include electricity and auxiliary natural gas combustion, variability is reduced by an additional 32% while central tendency increases by 8%. These harmonized values provide useful starting points for policy makers in evaluating life cycle GHG emissions from CSP projects without the requirement to conduct a full LCA for each new project.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1041365
• Report Number(s): NREL/JA-6A20-50163; TRN: US201211%%522
• Journal Information: Journal of Industrial Ecology, Vol. 16, Issue Supplement 1; ISSN 1088-1980
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CARBON DIOXIDE
COMBUSTION
DESIGN
ELECTRICITY
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
GREENHOUSE GASES
INVENTORIES
LIFE CYCLE
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
NATURAL GAS
PERFORMANCE
SCREENS
concentrating solar power
CSP
electricity generation
parabolic trough
life cycle assessment