List of proposed scenarios and technologies for de-carbonizing Europe

This is a work in progress article on wikipedia

Introduction[edit]

There are a large number of proposed methods for de-carbonizing Europe each with different costs and technology mixes and pros and cons. They are listed here

Nuclear energy[edit]

In this scenario, base load electricity is generated in nuclear power stations and used for all transport and building heating purposes in addition to the present uses for power ie motors in industry, lighting etc. large scale nuclear is incompatible with eg wind energy [1] [2] [3] [4]

District heating and combined heat and power[edit]

Existing and or new power stations located near heat loads are used to provide waste heat to heat legacy cities via district heat networks which also can take in geothermal, industrial waste heat, waste from refuse incineration, solar and wind derived heating energy, with large thermal stores used for heat storage. Detailed academic studies indicate this is one of the lowest cost route to secure decarbonization [5]

Pros – known technology

Cons – expensive, widespread disruption due to pipe installations

Super energy conservation[edit]

Retrofitting energy conservation to existing buildings and making all new buildings highly energy efficiency.

Pros – known technology

Cons – Difficult to get more than 30% reduction in building carbon costs without excessive costs on legacy buildings. Slow turnover and impact of new buildings. Uncertain effects[6] compared to predicted from modelling. Possible health effects of reduced ventilation and hot water use.[7]

Use of individual heat pumps for heating[edit]

Pros – known technology

Cons – Increases load on already overloaded electric networks. Do not work well during cold weather.

Increased use of wind energy[edit]

Pros – known technology

Cons – Offshore is more expensive than gas or nuclear. Intermittent / variable so needs firm generation for no wind periods. Incompaitble with large scale nuclear penetration [8] [9][10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Jump up^ large scale wind Nuclear and Wind are Officially Stated to be Incompatible This statement , from E.ON and EDF was in the financial pages of the Guardian on 16th March 2009.
  2. Jump up^ Fred Starr and Dave Andrews put in a briefing note to this effect in the Inst of Civil Engineers Journal ” Energy” 2008.
  3. Jump up^ Renewable Electricity and the Grid –https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_Electricity_and_the_Grid
  4. Jump up^ http://tx1.fcomet.com/~claverto/cms/download/325/
  5. Jump up^ http://danfoss.viidea.net/ttc3_lund_heat_roadmap_europe/video/1/?t=00:01
  6. Jump up^ http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/feb/08/energy-saving-trust-figures-boiler-insulation
  7. Jump up^ Some thoughts on rebound effects Steve Sorrell, Sussex Energy Group, October 2011 Prepared for the workshop on energy efficiency policies and the rebound effect, Kongresshotel Europe, Stuttgart, 13-14 Oct Below I offer some brief thoughts on rebound effects and some comments on the notion of ‗sufficiency‘ as a response to rebound effects. The former is based upon the results of our review of evidence on rebound effects [1] and the latter from a recent paper on energy, economic growth and environmental sustainability [2]. Rebound effects, the UKERC assessment and Jevons Paradox The potential ‗energy savings‘ from improved energy efficiency are commonly estimated using engineering-economic models, but these neglect the impact of various behavioural responses to such improvements, such as increased demand for cheaper energy services. A variety of mechanisms contribute to such rebound effects, but their net effect is difficult to quantify and widely ignored.
  8. Jump up^ large scale wind Nuclear and Wind are Officially Stated to be Incompatible This statement , from E.ON and EDF was in the financial pages of the Guardian on 16th March 2009.
  9. Jump up^ Fred Starr put in a briefing note to this effect in the Inst of Civil Engineers Journal ” Energy” 2008.
  10. Jump up^ http://tx1.fcomet.com/~claverto/cms/download/325/