Difference between revisions of "Emission assessment of small-scale energy production in the Helsinki metropolitan area"

Revision as of 11:59, 19 May 2009

Scope

Purpose

This assessments purpose is to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions and cost which are caused by small-scale energy production in Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Small-scale energy production means other used heating methods than district heating and those district heating units, which thermal energy output is less than 50 MW, in this assessment.

Also nuclear plant potential to produce thermal energy to district heating network of Helsinki and affects are assessed.

Boundaries

• Spatial: Helsinki Metropolitan Area (Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen).
• Emissions: CO₂, PM_2.5.
• Heating methods:
  • District heating
  • The others
• Fuels: All (H/L oil, Pellet, Chip, Gas, Coal).
• Other impacts: Costs
  • directly from the activity itself of the greenhouse trade
  • new district heating extension costs

Scenarios

Base-case:

• Current district heating status in Helsinki Metropolitan Area
  • emissions
  • fuels used in plants
  • city's need for heat
  • costs

Future scenarios:

• Changes in district heating network:
  • expansion?
  • costs, especially what does emission trading affect on costs
  • new plants

Intented users

• Local district heating distributors in Helsinki Metropolitan Area
• Participants of the | World Wide Views on Global Warming stakeholder meetings
• Participants of the COP-15 meeting in Copenhagen
• City-level policy-makers in all sectors in Helsinki Metropolitan Area as well as everywhere else
• International policy-makers related to climate change
• General public
• Scientists working on climate change and related fields of study

Participants

• The Assessment and Modeling unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare of Finland, THL.
  • Jouni Tuomisto (leading researcher, person in chrage)
  • Pasi Sorsa (assisting researcher, executing the assessment)
• Funded by Bioher-project

Definition

Gabi 4.3 - life cycle assessment software model parameters: File:Parameters, gabi-model.xls.

Decision variables

• Decisions:
  • International: Options of the international greenhouse gas trade mechanisms

Indicator variables

• Cost and profit
• Emissions

Other variables

• Outdoor temperature
• Housing stock
• Consumption of heat
• Structure of thermal energy production

Indicies

• Time: Years 2007, 2013, 2020 and 2030.

Analyses

• Analyses for small scale district heating plants and other used heating methods in Helsinki Metropolitan Area
  • fine particles PM_2.5 and CO₂ emissions
  • costs

Result

Results

Base scenario: District heating network is same as in 2007.

2020 Nuclear and 2030 Nuclear in the table are emissions for situation, where the new nuclear plant is built to Loviisa and connected to district heating network of Helsinki.

Scenario 1: District heating network is expanded so, that it fraction of the total floor area in Helsinki Metropolitan area cities are same as in 2007.

Scenario 2: Buildings, which use district heating, floor area fraction of total floor area in cities increases as in figure 1.

Figure 1. Buildings, which use district heating, floor area fraction of the total floor area. Increase is estimated to be as it has been between years 2000-2008.

Conclutions

Main purpose of this assessment was to calculate what kind of emissions small scale energy production units of district heating and other heating methods than district heating in Helsinki Metropolitan area would have in 2013, 2020 and 2030. Secondary purpose of this study was to assess emission trading affects to production costs of the district heating units and what affects would possible new nuclear plant have.

Consumption of district heating has been around 12 TWh each year. In this assessment calculated that total consumption of thermal energy will increase about 940 TWh in Helsinki Metropolitan area. If district heating fraction of the total energy production would be remain at 2007 level, the district heating consumption would be 615 GWh in year 2030. This would mean 27 GWh increase in consumption of district heating each year. Last years the increase has been 40 GWh, but the energy companies have estimated the increase will be lower in the future.

Based on the calculations, it seems that increasing district heating fraction of thermal energy production in Helsinki Metropolitan area would lower fine particle and carbon dioxide emissions of other used heating methods, but would have not much affect on small scale energy production units of district heating emissions.

By keeping district heating fraction of the total produced energy at the same level as 2007, annual carbon dioxide emissions of other used heating methods would increase about 95 000 tons and fine particle emissions about 50 tons to year 2030. Increasing district heating fraction as figure 13 shows, would degrease other used heating methods annual carbon dioxide emissions about 120 000 tons and fine particle emissions 68 tons to year 2030.

Small scale units of distinct heating carbon dioxide emissions will remain at 2007 level, because all the small scale units of district heating are used in separate district heating networks and are not used to even out the peaks in need of thermal energy. Small scale units of district heating emissions fraction of the total emissions of energy production is less than 1 %. Carbon dioxide emissions for small scale units of district heating are 20 - 30 000 ton and fine particle emissions 20 – 30 kg each year now and in the future.

The new nuclear plant would have a major affect to thermal energy production in Helsinki Metropolitan area. District heating is produced mainly from natural gas and coal now days and replacing these by nuclear fuel would lower carbon dioxide and fine particle emission greatly. If the district heating fraction of produced thermal energy is kept same as in 2007, the nuclear plant would degrease total carbon dioxide emission 71 % and fine particle emission 21 % in year 2020 and carbon dioxide emissions 72 % and fine particle emission 20 % in 2030 in Helsinki Metropolitan area.

See also

• District heating in wikipedia

References