Life cycle carbon emissions of energy sources Available to Purchase

Carbon emissions have become an important part of planning with utilities, lenders, and lawmakers in need of comprehensive and accurate information on carbon value of energy sources to guide policy, planning, and investment decisions. There is need for well-informed energy policy design information to attain the decarburization targets and keep the global warming below 2°C threshold set by the Paris agreement. Low-carbon electricity supply for all is needed to attain the 2°C-compatible energy system for maximum electrification of economies. Life cycle assessment facilitate the evaluation of a product over its life cycle, and across various environmental indicators. Technologies assessed include coal, natural gas, hydropower, nuclear power, concentrated solar power (CSP), photovoltaics, and wind power. Life cycle assessment is a tool used to evaluate the environmental impact of energy sources. One major limitation of the standard life cycle assessment methodology is that it ignores the impact of the impact of greenhouse gases. Life-cycle impacts decrease substantially when current fossil fuel technologies diminish in the energy mix particularly coal. Natural gas use may play an important role during the transition while installation of new fossil options without CO2 capture should be avoided to minimize emissions. The endogenous integration of life-cycle indicators into energy models adds value to both life cycle assessment and energy systems modelling in their support in energy decision as well as policy-making for sustainable energy transition. Different power generation technologies have variations with respect to environmental impact, operational cost, and other factors. Each technology produces different levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, through construction, operation and decommissioning with coal fired power plants releasing most emission per unit power generation.