TY - JOUR
T1 - Net energy analysis and life cycle energy assessment of electricity supply in Chile
T2 - Present status and future scenarios
AU - Raugei, Marco
AU - Leccisi, Enrica
AU - Fthenakis, Vasilis
AU - Escobar Moragas, Rodrigo
AU - Simsek, Yeliz
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2018/11/1
Y1 - 2018/11/1
N2 - Chile is one of the fastest-growing economies in Latin America, with a mainly fossil fuelled electricity demand and a population projected to surpass 20 million by 2035. Chile is undergoing a transition to renewable energies due to ambitious national targets, namely to generate 60% of its electricity from local renewable energy by 2035, and to achieve a 45%renewable energy share for all new electric installed capacity. In this work, we present a comprehensive energy analysis of the electricity generation technologies currently deployed in Chile. Then, we analyse potential future scenarios, considering a large deployment of RE, mainly PV and wind, to replace coal-fired electricity. The life cycle assessment (LCA) and net energy analysis (NEA) methods are applied in parallel to provide complementary indicators, respectively nr-CED and EROI, and identify weak spots and future opportunities. Special focus is given to the effect on EROI of transporting fossil fuels to Chile. Results show that a large deployment of PV and wind can significantly improve the overall net energy performance of electricity generation in Chile, while leading to an electricity supply mix that is >60% less reliant on non-renewable energy.
AB - Chile is one of the fastest-growing economies in Latin America, with a mainly fossil fuelled electricity demand and a population projected to surpass 20 million by 2035. Chile is undergoing a transition to renewable energies due to ambitious national targets, namely to generate 60% of its electricity from local renewable energy by 2035, and to achieve a 45%renewable energy share for all new electric installed capacity. In this work, we present a comprehensive energy analysis of the electricity generation technologies currently deployed in Chile. Then, we analyse potential future scenarios, considering a large deployment of RE, mainly PV and wind, to replace coal-fired electricity. The life cycle assessment (LCA) and net energy analysis (NEA) methods are applied in parallel to provide complementary indicators, respectively nr-CED and EROI, and identify weak spots and future opportunities. Special focus is given to the effect on EROI of transporting fossil fuels to Chile. Results show that a large deployment of PV and wind can significantly improve the overall net energy performance of electricity generation in Chile, while leading to an electricity supply mix that is >60% less reliant on non-renewable energy.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85051554518&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.energy.2018.08.051
DO - 10.1016/j.energy.2018.08.051
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85051554518
SN - 0360-5442
VL - 162
SP - 659
EP - 668
JO - Energy
JF - Energy
ER -