Performance of Generating Plant - World Energy Council

Performance of Generating Plant: Managing the Changes Executive Summary World Energy Council 20079Figure 4 gCO 2 emitted per kWh (life cycle analysis)Source: JancovicigCO2 emitted per kWh (life cycle analysis)EnergygCO 2 emitted per kWh(life cycle analysis)Coal800 – 1050(different technologies)Gas 43060 – 150Photovoltaic(different manufacturing countries)Wind3 – 22(different manufacturing countries)Nuclear 6Hydraulic 41000800600400200min gCO2/kW hmax gCO2/kWhHydroNuclearWindPVGasCoal0Source: JancoviciDespite its positive image, wind energy hasseveral drawbacks:• Intermittence• Grid integration difficulties• Poor forecasts wind conditions• Visual impacts• Noise impacts• Other environmental impactsOffshore wind energy production is currentlymuch more expensive than onshore. Initialinvestment is 50 to 100% higher depending onsite (depth, distance from shore, type ofsubstratum). O&M costs are also 50 to 100%higher depending on the site.The kWh cost for onshore production isestimated between 0.05 and 0.12€/kWhdepending on the turbine size and site, whereasoffshore production cost is estimated to liebetween 0.08 and 0.20€/kWh.Thus onshore wind energy production cancompete with coal, gas and nuclearelectricity and other energies which costbetween 0.03 and 0.06€/kWh, when externalcosts (impact on human health, ecosystemsand global warming) are not considered.Long-term wind electricity production potential isestimated at 4,500TWh per year, in other words27% of worldwide electricity production in 2003(16,570TWh). This is lower than for biomass(11,000TWh) and hydro (7,500TWh), andapproximately identical to solar energy (4,000 to4,400TWh).Photovoltaic EnergyOver the past fifteen years, photovoltaic (PV)solar energy has demonstrated an exponentialgrowth. Once a leading-edge technology onlyused for satellites, PV cells are becoming moreaccessible day by day. In 1992, a capacity of110MWp was installed in the world. By the endof 2005, a cumulative installed capacity of4,640MWp was achieved with 1,460MWp addedduring last year, in other words an outstandinggrowth rate of 34%. Solar PV is the fastestgrowing power generation technology.However, counting and evaluating PV systemsis more difficult than counting and evaluatingalternatives, since they are smaller, numerous,often directly installed on scattered private roofsand rarely assembled in an industrial plant.Historically, Japan was one of the first countriesto massively support PV energy, and this isreflected in its cumulative capacity of 1,430MWpin 2005, representing 31% of the worldwide PVenergy installations.