2.2.6 Carbon
2.2.6 Carbon Bruno Prior Mon, 14/12/2020 - 22:37- Carbon emissions are another output of the model. They are based on figures for carbon intensity that rely heavily on the UK government’s Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors and related statistics, although it was necessary to cast the net more widely to encompass online articles for estimates of the construction emissions. These assumptions cannot currently be varied by the modeller. They are also affected by the efficiency assumptions.
- To make a fair comparison between technologies with high energy inputs at the construction phase but low fuel consumption in operation and those that have the reverse pattern, we attempt to take account of both the operating emissions (e.g. fuel combustion) and also the construction emissions. However, we do not attempt to combine them into lifecycle emissions.
- The operating emissions are taken into account within the annual system costs, but the infrastructure emissions are recorded as a separate item, both in their own right and under the investment heading as the carbon element of the capital components of costs. Our assumptions are in the table to the right/below.
|
Technology |
Operating emissions (tCO2e /MWh of fuel consumed) |
Construction /embodied emissions (tCO2e/MW) |
|
Gas |
0.2 |
45 |
|
Oil |
0.25 |
35 |
|
Coal |
0.33 |
380 |
|
Biomass |
0.015 |
380 |
|
Biogas |
0.0002 |
35 |
|
Liquid biofuels |
0.0035 |
- |
|
Hydro |
0 |
500 |
|
Onshore wind |
0 |
730 |
|
Offshore wind |
0 |
840 |
|
Solar |
0 |
1700 |
|
Nuclear |
0 |
1250 |
|
Pumped storage |
- |
40 |
|
Batteries |
- |
40 |
|
Compressed air |
- |
20 |
|
Interconnection |
- |
10 |
|
Transmission |
- |
21 |