ESTIMATION OF GHG EMISSIONS ASSOCIATED WITH LIFE CYCLE THERMOELECTRIC CENTRAL INTERCONNECTED SYSTEM

Abstract

The increase in CO2 emissions has become a topic of relevance because they generate negative consequences on the environment, being one of these global warming. This work considered the Chilean Central power grid (SIC) as study system, whose power generation is mainly based on hydro and thermal power. The methodology has been divided in two stages: the first is an analysis of the power generation life cycle, in order to identify, quantify and characterize its potential environmental impacts. In the second stage a projection of emissions has been developed through the implementation of present and future scenarios. We have found that plants present in the SIC emitted more than 18 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in the year 2008. In terms of projections for the years 2020 and 2025 it is expected that GHG emissions will increase due to an increased generation based on thermal processes, mainly coal, reaching values of 29 and 33 million tonnes of CO2 for the respective years. Improving system efficiency contributes towards minimizing the GHG emissions from electricity generation systems, as the power generation process is the largest contributor of CO2 emissions in the cycle thermoelectric life. It is therefore important to improve current power generation technologies, as this will directly reduce GHG emissions and fuel consumption, but also indirectly the latter has a high incidence in reducing emissions from other stages of life cycle such as extraction, refining and shipping.

Key Words: Central Interconnected System, GHG, life cycle analysis, power generation.