Ecological Truths and Myths of Renewable Energy · Ecological Truths and Myths of Renewable Energy . M. Narodoslawsky . 15.06.2010 ... Peak oil . 15.06.2010 STYRIAN ACADEMY for Sustainable

15.06.2010

STYRIAN ACADEMY for Sustainable Energies

Ecological Truths and Myths of Renewable Energy

M. Narodoslawsky


15.06.2010


What you can expect

• The problem of „limited infinity“

• Enough but not at all time

• Size and ecology

• Not all renewables are equal

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What you know: Fossil resources are limited Peak oil

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However Peak Oil is not “Last drop oil”

• We still have enough … • …and it does not cost too

much… • …but for the first time

renewable resources are back in the game!

Limit for renewable resources

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What you know: they are increasing CO2 in the atmosphere

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Life is complex…

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We do not face an energy shortage!

Austrian energy demand 1.400 PJ/a

Solar radiation on Austria 343.000 PJ/a

Less than 5% of the area suffice (with today‘s efficiency) to supply us with energy!

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Some interesting facts Annual Terrestrial Biomass Production – 60 Gt C/yr • Current Fossil Fuel Consumption 7 Gt C/yr • Current Chemical Production 0.3 Gt C/yr • Current Cultivated Crop Production 6 Gt C/yr

• Future Energy Requirement (from biomass) 37 Gt C/yr

(including a 100 % increase in € per J efficiency!) • Future Chemical Demand 1.5 Gt C/yr • Future Crop Requirement 9 Gt C/yr

Source: Jeffrey J. Siirola, Eastman Chemical Company

Don‘t even think of biomass as THE SOLUTION!!

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Veszprem-2009 Lessons learned so far

• A change in the raw material base will become formative for industry (and society!) in the 21st century…

…as oil goes now, natural gas follows 20-30 years later and coal is no alternative

• There is no “single solution” that may maintain our current structure…

… as renewable resources show “limited infinity” • Biomass alone will not do the job…

…but will be a necessary complement because of it is easily stored and is the only “material solar

energy” • We are in for several “simultaneous revolutions”

… …as we have to change the raw material base at the

same time as increase the efficiency of processes dramatically

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And some more facts

• Biomass yield: 400-1200 gC/m²a 0,4-1,2 W/m² • Solar yield (terrestrial mean) 125 W/m²

• Electricity: 18 % efficiency (3100 km² covers Austrian demand)

• Heat: 70 % efficiency (1760 km² covers Austrian demand)

• Area covered by buildings in Austria: 1870 km², • Sealed area in total in Austria: 4280 km²

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Who keeps the light on??

• „Flameless“ renewable energies are based on discontinuous sources

• Therefore storage becomes crucial

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Storage efficiencies

0102030405060708090

100

Pum

p st

orag

e

pres

s. A

ir

Bat

tery

hydr

ogen

% e

ffici

ency

Bioresources provide stored and mobile solar energy and materials

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Ecological assessment – a case of rising diversity

De-materialisation?

Too much carbon?

Too much area?

Too much water?

Too much what????

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Basic Idea of all ecological footprints

Generation

Services

Ecosphere Destruction

„Embedding“

Raw materials, Energy

Products, Emissions

Provision of services

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The Sustainable Process Index (SPI)

• Is member of the „ecological footprint“ family

• Summarises and compares different ecological pressures

• Is able to compare fossil based processes with those on renewable base

• Can compare widely different technologies and product life cycles

• Is based on (relatively) solid data

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Re-thinking size for renewable resource technologies: bio-ethanol case study

• Option 1: Ethanol production in combination with a biogas combined heat and power (CHP) plant

• Option 2: Ethanol production in combination with biogas production

• Option 3: Ethanol production combined with straw combustion

• Reference: 60.000 t/a ethanol from corn, conventional energy provision (natural gas)

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Re-thinking size: ecological impact

0

20

40

60

80

100

0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000

t/a

eco

log

ical

foo

tpri

nt

(SP

I)

m²a

/l

option 1

option 2

option 3

60.000 t/a

The „transport slopes“ The „fossil“ pathway

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Re-thinking size: economy

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

0,8

0,9

1

1,1

0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000

ethanol t/a

€/lt

etha

nol

option 1option 2option 3

Optimal Size

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Not all renewables are equal: let’s talk yield

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

Biodies

el

Bioetha

nol

FT-D

iesel

Biogas

Pyrolys

is oil

kWh/

ha

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Not all renewables are equal: let’s talk ecological pressure

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Gasoline Diesel E-85 Bio-diesel Bio-gas E-car-A E-car-D

m²/k

m

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We developed an on-line calculator…

• …that calculates the ecological footprint of farms (short version)

• …as well as products (long version)

• …providing insight in the ecological pressures of agricultural practices

• …distinguishing between different types of pressures (renewable/fossil resources, emissions, …)

www.fussabdrucksrechner.at • …and we applied it to different products,

using Austrian standard data as well as case study organic farms

http://www.fussabdrucksrechner.at/

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Is agriculture „green“?

0,0

1,0

2,0

3,0

4,0

5,0

6,0

7,0

8,0

9,0

Case studyorganic farm

Organic farmingaverage

Conventionalfarming average

Foot

prin

t (ha

/t)

Corn

Pest controlFertilizerMachinery

Factor 5

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Is agriculture „green“?

0,0

1,0

2,0

3,0

4,0

5,0

6,0

Case studyorganic farm

organic farmstandard

Conventionalfarm standard

Foot

prin

t (ha

/t)

Potato

PesticidesFertillizerFuel

Factor 2,6

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Where should agriculture go to?

0

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30

40

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60

70

Conventional Organic-fossil Organic/biogas

areaMachine useFertilizer

Reducing ecological pressures by going organic and using renewable energies

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STYRIAN ACADEMY for Sustainable Energies 25

Where should agriculture go to? The way we structure landscape is

the way we cool our planet

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Where should agriculture go to?

The higher the “eco-efficiency of the landscape, the more stable is the water system in the region The closer the water cycle is closed, the “cooler” is the region

Increasing ecological efficiency of landscapes

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Where should agriculture go to?”

Energy

Food

Food

Material

Fertilizer

Food

The closer the material cycles, the lower the losses The higher the integration, the more influence on the shape of the landscape

Closing material cycles in cascades

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Take home message

• Renewable resources face the problem of „limited infinity“

• The change to renewable resources will be dramatic, we have to look at the whole system

• As renewable resources are dependent on land and are mostly discontinuous, we have to take into consideration transport and storage

• The whole life cycle, from resource generation to logistics to production has to be taken into account

• We need to restructure our landuse to save the supporting natural functions

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And if you want to evaluate yourself or your process ecologically, visit

www.fussabdrucksrechner.at

15.06.2010


Documents

Ecological Truths and Myths of Renewable Energy · Ecological Truths and Myths of Renewable Energy . M. Narodoslawsky . 15.06.2010 ... Peak oil . 15.06.2010 STYRIAN ACADEMY for Sustainable