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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• This has mostly been replaced by lower carbon gas, increased output from wind, alongside more imports and reduced demand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%
14%
7%
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33%
EDF Energy RWE SSE
Drax Centrica Uniper
ScottishPower E.on Engie
Other
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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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1,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,500
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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
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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
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CALCULATING THE CARBON CONTENT OF
POWER IMPORTS
14 Renewable Energy focus: calculating the carbon content of power imports | NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED |
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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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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
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