Environmental compartments Clause Samples

Environmental compartments air The actual reduction of emissions depends on how the energy is produced. Electricity is generated by various fuels. Table 6.1 illustrates this in an overview of the emissions per MWhe for four countries. It shows that there is a considerable variation in the environmental benefit for electricity savings per country. The figures in Table 6.1 do not give any insight into the environmental impacts of non-fossil fuels such as nuclear energy and hydropower (waste, space requirements, etc.) Table 6.1 CO2, NOx, and SO2 emissions during electricity generation Country Netherlands Sweden Canada Germany Generation mix (%) coal 42.0 19.1 oil 0.7 2.3 gas 50.6 0.6 non-fossil 6.7 90 78.0 35 fossil 93.3 10 22.0 65 CO2 (kg/MWhe) 570 20.0 217.6 390 NOx (kg/MWhe) 1.08 0.1 0.6 0.4 SO2 (kg/MWhe) 0.87 0.5 0.7 0.5 For heating, despite the difference in fuels, the environmental benefit of energy saving for the various countries is less apparent (see Table 6.2). Table 6.2 CO2, NOx and SO2 emissions during heating Country Netherlands Sweden Canada Germany reference fuel gas* district heating gas** oil CO2(kg/MWhth) 292 200 282 266 NOx(kg/MWhth) 0.2 1 2.7 0.2 SO2(kg/MWhth) - 2 - 0.5 * 1 MWh = 146 m3 gas ** 1 MWh = 152 m3 gas The emission tables indicate that from an environmental point of view it may be more attractive for one country to save electricity than for another, while another country in turn should give priority to economizing on heating. For instance in a country where most of the energy is hydro-electrically produced, displacing electrical home and office buildings space heating and cooling with UTES technologies will have little impact on atmospheric emissions. However, displacing home or office building oil or gas burning furnaces with electrically driven heat pumps will have a significant impact on the environment. The electricity used by the heat pump, being hydraulically produced, is a cleaner source of energy than the thermal energy produced in the home or office by coal, gas or oil burning furnaces. The displacement of conventional heating sources in a building with electrically driven heat pumps using UTES, results in an overall environmental impact in terms of atmospheric emission. If the COP of the heat pumps and UTES systems is greater than 1, the overall energy requirements are reduced (Strata Engineering Corp., 1992). However in another country where the major source of electrical power generation is from combustion of fossil fuels, replacing an electric...