RENEWABLE ENERGY FOCUS: CALCULATING · 2019-01-24 · Our energy mix is changing rapidly…...

RENEWABLE ENERGY FOCUS: CALCULATING

THE CARBON CONTENT OF POWER IMPORTS

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ALASTAIR DAVIES, EDF ENERGY

Renewable Energy focus: calculating the carbon content of power imports | NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED |

©23 Jan 2019 EDF Energy plc. All rights Reserved.

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Our energy mix is changing rapidly…

• Since 2012 there has been a dramatic decrease in the contribution of coal to our energy mix

• This has mostly been replaced by lower carbon gas, increased output from wind, alongside more imports and reduced demand

• Nuclear is now the second largest contributor, supplying around 20% of our energy annually

• The Grid is already having to adapt to increasingly variable output from solar and wind

Coal is no longer providing the majority of power

Source: Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Energy Trends, June 2018

NUCLEAR GAS (INC. CHP) COAL IMPORTS

OTHER RENEWABLES WIND SOLAR PV



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…and EDF Energy is playing its part in every aspect of the

transition

• EDF Energy is the UK’s largest electricity generator – operating nuclear, coal, gas and renewables

• We are part of this change and are adapting how we operate

• Our 4GW of coal stations now only operate during peaks of demand, and we are investing across a range of technologies, including renewables, gas and battery storage

• Our investment in the UK’s nuclear power stations has resulted in improved performance and an output that is now 60% higher than a decade ago

• Our ambition is to double our installed capacity of renewables over the next five years – for example we have recently acquired a large offshore wind project in Scotland

EDF Energy is the UK’s largest electricity generator

21%

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33%

EDF Energy RWE SSE

Drax Centrica Uniper

ScottishPower E.on Engie

Other



WIND POWER IN SCOTLAND

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APPROACHING 100% RENEWABLES?



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In aggregate, over the month of October 2018, wind

generation matched Scottish electricity demand

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Demand Total Wind

Wind generation in Scotland = 1.8 TWh

Electricity demand in Scotland = 1.8 TWh

Hour by hour 25 % of the wind power exceeds the demand at the time it is generated.



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Back-up generation could fill the gaps, but would limit the

reduction in carbon intensity to no better than 100 g/kWh

Useful wind generation = 1.3 TWh

Electricity demand in Scotland = 1.8 TWh

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Useful wind Backup Spilt wind

Back-up generation needed = 0.5 TWh



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Li-ion battery storage could be used to balance supply and

demand, but at a cost of £78 billion

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State of charge

Battery size required, >300 GWh

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How much wind capacity would be needed to meet every last

MWh of demand?

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Demand



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How much wind capacity would be needed to meet every last

MWh of demand?

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It becomes incrementally less and less useful to add wind to reduce

gas use – because gas is used when wind speeds are low

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Demand Total wind



Wind generation is just sufficient to meet demand

Twenty times the current wind capacity would be required to provide sufficient power at all times.

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It becomes incrementally less and less useful to add wind to reduce

gas use – because gas is used when wind speeds are low

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Demand met by wind Average usefulness Marginal usefulness



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Trade with the rest of the UK is another (better) answer

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Nuclear Hydro Biomass E&W Wind Other Imports Gas Coal Storage



CALCULATING THE CARBON CONTENT OF

POWER IMPORTS

14 Renewable Energy focus: calculating the carbon content of power imports | NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED |


Carbon accounting. It remains appropriate to account for carbon budgets on the basis of production emissions given accounting conventions and available policy levers. However, consumption emissions should be monitored to check whether these are falling in line with global action required to achieve the climate objective, or whether further action is required. Input-output analysis remains the best option for monitoring consumption emissions, as there are no regular updates of lifecycle emission estimates of products.

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Carbon accounting can be on the basis of either production or

consumption and both are important

Extract from CCC Progress report, July 2018, box 1.2

Extract from CCC “Carbon footprint report”, 2013, exec. summary

The internationally agreed standard for reporting greenhouse gas emissions to the UN covers emissions from activities within the GB. This approach does not include emissions embedded in the goods and services the GB imports, nor exclude those in exports; therefore it is not a good indicator of emissions related to final consumption in the GB. […] Comparing GB production and consumption-based emissions shows that more action is needed in the GB and globally to reduce these emissions: •GB emissions measured on a consumption basis are higher than on a production basis. For instance, in 2015 (the most recent available data) they were 13 tCO2e per person compared to 8tCO2e on a production basis. •A combination of GB and global action, as envisaged in the Paris Agreement, is required to cut both GB production and consumption emissions in the future.



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UK electricity generation (other than Scottish wind) shows

varying levels of carbon intensity

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Nuclear Hydro Biomass E&W Wind Other Imports Gas Coal Storage



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UK electricity generation (other than Scottish wind) shows

varying levels of carbon intensity

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g/k

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We identify four methods for assessing the impact of imports

on the carbon intensity of electricity consumption

Carbon intensity of RUK imports

Impact on carbon intensity of Scottish consumption

Average intensity (time-weighted) 246 63

Average intensity (import-weighted) 298 76

Marginal intensity (time-weighted) 829 210

Marginal intensity (import-weighted) 912 232

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Average intensity Average intensity(import-weighted)

Marginal intensity Marginal intensity(import-weighted)

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Carbon intensity of Scottish electricity consumption based on four methods for assessing imports



RENEWABLE ENERGY FOCUS: CALCULATING · 2019-01-24 · Our energy mix is changing rapidly…...

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