Industrial ecology seminar - " Applying real-time emission factors to increase accuracy in GHG accounting for electricity. A case study for Spain"

Charlie C. Spork (student of the Master¿s programme in Energy Science at Utrecht University) October 23, 2013 10:00 - 11:00 Seminari D, Escola Superior d'Enginyeria, UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona Charlie C. Spork will present the most recent findings of his research work with Dr. Xavier Gabarrell and Dr. Gara Villalba from ICTA-UAB, Dr. Abel Chavez (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) and Dr. Martin K. Patel (Utrecht University). Summary For many companies, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with their purchased and consumed electricity form one of the largest contributions. Currently, hourly variations in electricity grid emissions are not considered by standard GHG accounting protocols which apply a national grid emission factor (EF), potentially resulting in erred estimates for the GHG emissions. In this study, a method is developed that calculates GHG emissions based on real-time data and it is shown that the use of hourly electricity grid EFs can significantly improve the accuracy of the GHG emissions that are attributed to the purchased and consumed electricity of a company. A toy model analysis for the electricity delivered to the Spanish grid in 2012 reveals that for companies operating during the day, GHG emissions calculated by the real-time method are estimated to be up to 5% higher (and in some special cases up to 9% higher) than the emissions calculated by the conventional method in which a national grid EF is applied, whereas for companies operating during nightly hours GHG emissions are estimated to be as low as 3% below the GHG emissions determined by the conventional method. A significant error can therefore occur in the organizational carbon footprint of a company, and consequently, also in the product carbon footprint. It is recommended that hourly EFs be developed for other countries and power grids.