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Life Cycle Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis of Natural Gas-Based Distributed Generation Projects in China

Author

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  • Hansi Liu

    (Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Sheng Zhou

    (Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Tianduo Peng

    (Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Xunmin Ou

    (Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

Abstract

In this paper, we used the life-cycle analysis (LCA) method to evaluate the energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of natural gas (NG) distributed generation (DG) projects in China. We took the China Resources Snow Breweries (CRSB) NG DG project in Sichuan province of China as a base scenario and compared its life cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions performance against five further scenarios. We found the CRSB DG project (all energy input is NG) can reduce GHG emissions by 22%, but increase energy consumption by 12% relative to the scenario, using coal combined with grid electricity as an energy input. The LCA also indicated that the CRSB project can save 24% of energy and reduce GHG emissions by 48% relative to the all-coal scenario. The studied NG-based DG project presents major GHG emissions reduction advantages over the traditional centralized energy system. Moreover, this reduction of energy consumption and GHG emissions can be expanded if the extra electricity from the DG project can be supplied to the public grid. The action of combining renewable energy into the NG DG system can also strengthen the dual merit of energy conservation and GHG emissions reduction. The marginal CO 2 abatement cost of the studied project is about 51 USD/ton CO 2 equivalent, which is relatively low. Policymakers are recommended to support NG DG technology development and application in China and globally to boost NG utilization and control GHG emissions.

Suggested Citation

  • Hansi Liu & Sheng Zhou & Tianduo Peng & Xunmin Ou, 2017. "Life Cycle Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis of Natural Gas-Based Distributed Generation Projects in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-14, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:10:y:2017:i:10:p:1515-:d:113865
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    Cited by:

    1. Jianfei Shen & Fengyun Li & Di Shi & Hongze Li & Xinhua Yu, 2018. "Factors Affecting the Economics of Distributed Natural Gas-Combined Cooling, Heating and Power Systems in China: A Systematic Analysis Based on the Integrated Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Labo," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-28, September.
    2. Kaplan, P. Ozge & Witt, Jonathan W., 2019. "What is the role of distributed energy resources under scenarios of greenhouse gas reductions? A specific focus on combined heat and power systems in the industrial and commercial sectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 83-94.
    3. Chen Chen & Jiangfan Lin & Lei Pan & Kwang Y. Lee & Li Sun, 2019. "Improving Simultaneous Cooling and Power Load-Following Capability for MGT-CCP Using Coordinated Predictive Controls," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-24, March.
    4. Pedro J. Zarco-Periñán & Irene M. Zarco-Soto & Fco. Javier Zarco-Soto & Rafael Sánchez-Durán, 2021. "Influence of Population Income on Energy Consumption for Heating and Its CO 2 Emissions in Cities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-18, July.
    5. Sakdirat Kaewunruen & Jessada Sresakoolchai & Junying Peng, 2019. "Life Cycle Cost, Energy and Carbon Assessments of Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, December.
    6. Fei Wang & Yili Yu & Xinkang Wang & Hui Ren & Miadreza Shafie-Khah & João P. S. Catalão, 2018. "Residential Electricity Consumption Level Impact Factor Analysis Based on Wrapper Feature Selection and Multinomial Logistic Regression," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-26, May.

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