Estimating Hydro's Contribution to the control of Greenhouse Gases
- ORNL
One of the environmental effects of hydropower operation that should be evaluated in licensing decisions is the general benefit to air quality. Hydropower's contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is an increasingly important component of these air quality benefits. The Oak Ridge Competitive Electricity Dispatch (ORCED) computer model is one method that can be used to quantify these benefits. ORCED provides a relatively simple method that is applicable and cost-effective and that has been successfully applied in other GHG studies. ORCED can be used to calculate a region-specific value of the carbon intensity factor (CIF, kg carbon/MWh) that would be associated with likely replacement power (i.e., a regionally representative mix of coal, gas, and other energy sources). The project's plant factor and operational mode (e.g, baseload versus peaking) can also be incorporated in the CIF calculation. The resulting parameter can then be multiplied by the energy output of the hydropower project that is being analyzed to estimate a CO{sub 2} emission value that is avoided by the project's operation.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 978256
- Journal Information:
- Hydro Review, Vol. XXI, Issue 7; ISSN 0884-0385
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Emissions Benefits of Distributed Generation in the Texas Market
Adoption of Plug-in Electric Vehicles: Local Fuel Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions Across the U.S.