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Role of natural gas in meeting an electric sector emissions reduction strategy and effects on greenhouse gas emissions.

ABSTRACT: With advances in natural gas extraction technologies, there is an increase in the availability of domestic natural gas, and natural gas is gaining a larger share of use as a fuel in electricity production. At the power plant, natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel than coal, but uncertainties exist in the amount of methane leakage occurring upstream in the extraction and production of natural gas. At higher leakage levels, the additional methane emissions could offset the carbon dioxide emissions reduction benefit of switching from coal to natural gas. This analysis uses the MARKAL linear optimization model to compare the carbon emissions profiles and system-wide global warming potential of the U.S. energy system over a series of model runs in which the power sector is required to meet a specific carbon dioxide reduction target across a number of scenarios in which the availability of natural gas changes. Scenarios are run with carbon dioxide emissions and a range of upstream methane emission leakage rates from natural gas production along with upstream methane and carbon dioxide emissions associated with production of coal and oil. While the system carbon dioxide emissions are reduced in most scenarios, total carbon dioxide equivalent emissions show an increase in scenarios in which natural gas prices remain low and, simultaneously, methane emissions from natural gas production are higher.

SUBMITTER: Lenox C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7336527 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Role of natural gas in meeting an electric sector emissions reduction strategy and effects on greenhouse gas emissions.

Lenox Carol C Kaplan P Ozge PO

Energy economics 20160101

With advances in natural gas extraction technologies, there is an increase in the availability of domestic natural gas, and natural gas is gaining a larger share of use as a fuel in electricity production. At the power plant, natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel than coal, but uncertainties exist in the amount of methane leakage occurring upstream in the extraction and production of natural gas. At higher leakage levels, the additional methane emissions could offset the carbon dioxide emissions ...[more]

PMID: 32632338

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Project description:Electricity production is a major source of air pollutants in the U.S. Policies to reduce these emissions typically result in the power industry choosing to apply controls or switch to fuels with lower combustion emissions. However, the life-cycle emissions associated with various fuels can differ considerably, potentially impacting the effectiveness of fuel switching. Life-cycle emissions include emissions from extracting, processing, transporting, and distributing fuels, as well as manufacturing and constructing new generating capacity. The field of life-cycle analysis allows quantification of these emissions. While life-cycle emissions are often considered in greenhouse gas mitigation targets, they generally have not been included in air quality policymaking. We demonstrate such an approach, examining a hypothetical electric sector emission reduction target for nitrogen oxides (NOx) using the Global Change Assessment Model with U.S. state-level resolution. When only power plant emissions are considered in setting a NOx emission reduction target, fuel switching leads to an increase in upstream emissions that offsets 5% of the targeted reductions in 2050. When fuel extraction, processing, and transport emissions are included under the reduction target, accounting for 20% of overall NOx reduction goal, the resulting control strategy meets the required reductions and does so at 35% lower cost by 2050. However, manufacturing and construction emissions increase and offset up to 7% of NOx reductions in electric sector, indicating that it may be beneficial to consider these sources as well. Assuming no legal obstacles exist, life-cycle-based approaches could be implemented by allowing industry to earn reduction credits for reducing upstream emissions. We discuss some of the limitations of such an approach, including the difficulty in identifying the location of upstream emissions, which may occur across regulatory authorities or even outside of the U.S.

Dataset Information

Role of natural gas in meeting an electric sector emissions reduction strategy and effects on greenhouse gas emissions.

Publications

Role of natural gas in meeting an electric sector emissions reduction strategy and effects on greenhouse gas emissions.

Similar Datasets

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