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Life Cycle Assessment of Italian Electricity Scenarios to 2030

Author

Listed:
  • Alessia Gargiulo

    (Ricerca Sistema Energetico–RSE SpA, 20134 Milan, Italy)

  • Maria Leonor Carvalho

    (Ricerca Sistema Energetico–RSE SpA, 20134 Milan, Italy)

  • Pierpaolo Girardi

    (Ricerca Sistema Energetico–RSE SpA, 20134 Milan, Italy)

Abstract

The study presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Italian electricity scenarios, devised in the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (INECP). A fully representative LCA of the national electricity system was carried out, taking into consideration a great number of different power plant typologies for current (2016 and 2017) and future (2030) electricity mixes. The study confirms that LCA can be a powerful tool for supporting energy planning and strategies assessment. Indeed the results put in evidence not only the improvement of the environmental profile from the current to the future mix (the impacts decrease from 2016 to 2030 due to the transition towards renewables, mainly wind and photovoltaic), but also underline the difference between two scenarios at 2030 (being the scenario that includes the strategic objectives of the INECP to 2030 the one showing best environmental profile), providing an evaluation of the effect of different energy policies. For example, in the INECP scenario CO 2 eq/kWh is 46% lower than current scenario and 37% lower than business as usual scenario for 2030. Moreover, considering different impact categories allowed to identify potential environmental trade-offs. The results suggest also the need of future insight on data related to photovoltaic technologies and materials and their future development.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessia Gargiulo & Maria Leonor Carvalho & Pierpaolo Girardi, 2020. "Life Cycle Assessment of Italian Electricity Scenarios to 2030," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-16, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:15:p:3852-:d:390827
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Guillermo San Miguel & María Cerrato, 2020. "Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of the Spanish Electricity: Past, Present and Future Projections," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-20, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Shalini Verma & Akshoy Ranjan Paul & Nawshad Haque, 2022. "Selected Environmental Impact Indicators Assessment of Wind Energy in India Using a Life Cycle Assessment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, May.
    2. Lorenzo Ferrari & Gianluca Pasini & Umberto Desideri, 2023. "Towards a Power Production from 100% Renewables: The Italian Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-17, February.
    3. Alessandro Cardarelli & Marco Barbanera, 2023. "Substitution of Fossil Coal with Hydrochar from Agricultural Waste in the Electric Arc Furnace Steel Industry: A Comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-19, July.
    4. Marco Facchino & Paulina Popielak & Marcin Panowski & Dariusz Wawrzyńczak & Izabela Majchrzak-Kucęba & Marcello De Falco, 2022. "The Environmental Impacts of Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage on the Electricity Sector: A Life Cycle Assessment Comparison between Italy and Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-22, September.
    5. Maria Leonor Carvalho & Giulio Mela & Andrea Temporelli & Elisabetta Brivio & Pierpaolo Girardi, 2022. "Sodium-Ion Batteries with Ti 1 Al 1 TiC 1.85 MXene as Negative Electrode: Life Cycle Assessment and Life Critical Resource Use Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-18, May.
    6. Rudha Khudhair Mohammed & Hooman Farzaneh, 2023. "Life Cycle Environmental Impacts Assessment of Post-Combustion Carbon Capture for Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant in Iraq, Considering Grassroots and Retrofit Design," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-35, February.
    7. Maria Leonor Carvalho & Andrea Temporelli & Pierpaolo Girardi, 2021. "Life Cycle Assessment of Stationary Storage Systems within the Italian Electric Network," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-19, April.
    8. Giulio Mela & Maria Leonor Carvalho & Andrea Temporelli & Pierpaolo Girardi, 2021. "The Commodity Life Cycle Costing Indicator. An Economic Measure of Natural Resource Use in the Life Cycle," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    9. Maurizio Bressan & Elena Campagnoli & Carlo Giovanni Ferro & Valter Giaretto, 2022. "Rice Straw: A Waste with a Remarkable Green Energy Potential," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-15, February.

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