Assessment of sustainability indicators for renewable energy technologies

被引:646
作者
Evans, Annette [1 ]
Strezov, Vladimir [1 ]
Evans, Tim J. [1 ]
机构
[1] Macquarie Univ, Grad Sch Environm, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
关键词
Renewable energy; Sustainability; Emissions; Price; Social impacts; GREENHOUSE-GAS EMISSIONS; LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT; GEOTHERMAL POWER-GENERATION; PAY-BACK TIME; ELECTRICITY-GENERATION; CO2; EMISSIONS; ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS; NUCLEAR-POWER; GHG EMISSIONS; SOLAR POWER;
D O I
10.1016/j.rser.2008.03.008
中图分类号
X [环境科学、安全科学];
学科分类号
08 ; 0830 ;
摘要
The non-combustion based renewable electricity generation technologies were assessed against a range of sustainability indicators and using data obtained from the literature. The indicators used to assess each technology were price of generated electricity, greenhouse gas emissions during full life cycle of the technology, availability of renewable sources, efficiency of energy conversion, land requirements, water consumption and social impacts, The cost of electricity, greenhouse gas emissions and the efficiency of electricity generation were found to have a very wide range for each technology, mainly due to variations in technological options as well as geographical dependence of each renewable energy source. The social impacts were assessed qualitatively based on the major individual impacts discussed in literature. Renewable energy technologies were then ranked against each indicator assuming that indicators have equal importance for sustainable development. It was found that wind power is the most sustainable, followed by hydropower, photovoltaic and then geothermal. Wind power was identified with the lowest relative greenhouse gas emissions, the least water consumption demands and with the most favourable social impacts comparing to other technologies, but requires larger land and has high relative capital costs. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
引用
收藏
页码:1082 / 1088
页数:7
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