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The life cycle greenhouse gas implications of a UK gas supply transformation on a future low carbon electricity sector

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  • P. Hammond, Geoffrey
  • O' Grady, Áine

Abstract

Natural gas used for power generation will be increasingly sourced from more geographically diverse sites, and unconventional sources such as shale and biomethane, as natural gas reserves diminish. A consequential life cycle approach was employed to examine the implications of an evolving gas supply on the greenhouse gas (GHG) performance of a future United Kingdom (UK) electricity system. Three gas supply mixes were developed based on supply trends, from present day to the year 2050. The contribution of upstream gas emissions - such as extraction, processing/refining, - is not fully reported or covered by UK government legislation. However, upstream gas emissions were seen to be very influential on the future electricity systems analysed; with upstream gas emissions per MJ rising between 2.7 and 3.4 times those of the current supply. Increased biomethane in the gas supply led to a substantial reduction in direct fossil emissions, which was found to be critical in offsetting rising upstream emissions. Accordingly, the modelled high shale gas scenario, with the lowest biomethane adoption; resulted in the highest GHG emissions on a life cycle basis. The long-term dynamics of upstream processes are explored in this work to help guide future decarbonisation policies.

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  • P. Hammond, Geoffrey & O' Grady, Áine, 2017. "The life cycle greenhouse gas implications of a UK gas supply transformation on a future low carbon electricity sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 937-949.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:118:y:2017:i:c:p:937-949
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2016.10.123
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hobley, Alexander, 2019. "Will gas be gone in the United Kingdom (UK) by 2050? An impact assessment of urban heat decarbonisation and low emission vehicle uptake on future UK energy system scenarios," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 695-705.
    2. Ramirez, Angel D. & Rivela, Beatriz & Boero, Andrea & Melendres, Ana M., 2019. "Lights and shadows of the environmental impacts of fossil-based electricity generation technologies: A contribution based on the Ecuadorian experience," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 467-477.
    3. Griffin, Paul W. & Hammond, Geoffrey P. & Norman, Jonathan B., 2018. "Industrial energy use and carbon emissions reduction in the chemicals sector: A UK perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C), pages 587-602.
    4. Andrea J. Boero & Kevin Kardux & Marina Kovaleva & Daniel A. Salas & Jacco Mooijer & Syed Mashruk & Michael Townsend & Kevin Rouwenhorst & Agustin Valera-Medina & Angel D. Ramirez, 2021. "Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Ammonia-Based Electricity," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-20, October.

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