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

Revision as of 07:29, 20 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.

Emissions:

2020 Nuclear and 2030 Nuclear in the table are emissions for situations, 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.

Emissions:

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.

Emissions:

Costs:

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 assessment was to estimate 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 Helsinki Metropolitan area. 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 increased 615 GWh. This would mean 27 GWh increase each year in consumption of district heating. Last years the increase has been 40 GWh each year, 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 emissions of small scale energy production units of district heating.

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

Thermal energy need in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Gabi 4.3 - life cycle assessment software

References