Search

Improvements in modelling energy systems of populous emerging economies are highly decisive for a successful global energy transition. The models used–increasingly open source–still need more appropriate open data. As an illustrative example, we take the Brazilian energy system, which has great potential for renewable energy resources but still relies heavily on fossil fuels. We provide a comprehensive open dataset for scenario analyses, which can be directly used with the popular open energy system model PyPSA and other modelling frameworks. It includes three categories: (1) time series data of variable renewable potentials, electricity load profiles, inflows for the hydropower plants, and cross-border electricity exchanges; (2) geospatial data on the administrative division of the Brazilian federal states; (3) tabular data, which contains power plant data with installed and planned generation capacities, aggregated grid network topology, biomass thermal plant potential, as well as scenarios of energy demand. Our dataset could enable further global or country-specific energy system studies based on open data relevant to decarbonizing Brazil's energy system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the technologies that stand out as an alternative to provide additional flexibility to power systems with large penetration of variable renewable energy (VRE), especially for regions with high direct normal irradiation (DNI), is concentrated solar power (CSP) plants coupled to thermal energy storage (TES) and back-up (BUS) systems. Brazil can develop this technology domestically, especially in its Northeast region, where most of VRE capacity is being deployed and where lies most of the CSP potential of the country. This work applies the Capacity Expansion Model REMix-CEM, which allows considering dispatch constraints of thermal power plants in long-term capacity expansion optimization. REMix-CEM calculates the optimal CSP plant configuration and its dispatch strategy from a central planning perspective. Results showed that the hybridization of CSP plants with jurema-preta biomass (CSP-BIO) becomes a least-cost option for Brazil by 2040. CSP-BIO contributes to the Northeast power system by regularizing the energy imbalance that results from the large-scale VRE expansion along with conventional inflexible power plants. CSP-BIO plants are able to increase frequency response and operational reserve services and can provide the required additional flexibility that the Northeast power system of Brazil will require into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil is looking for innovative alternatives to supply the country's increasing electricity demand and provide flexibility to cope with higher shares of variable renewable energy (VRE). Concentrated solar power (CSP) can help solving this double challenge. Three energy planning tools, namely MESSAGE-Brazil, TIMES-TiPs-B and REMIX-CEM-B, have been combined to analyze the opportunities that CSP plants offer to the power system and to the wider energy system of the country. This work shows that CSP can be a cost-effective option under stringent mitigation scenarios. CSP can provide firm energy and dispatchable capacity in the Northeast region of Brazil, optimally complementing wind and PV generations. Moreover, CSP can offer additional flexibility to the Northeast power system of the country, especially during winter, when the hydrological period is dryer. Results show synergies between CSP and other power supply technologies with small cost differences between the baseline and CSP-forced scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to quantify the environmentally sustainable and economically feasible potentials of agricultural and agro-industrial residues to generate electricity via direct combustion in centralised power plants in Brazil. Further, the energy savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential of replacing natural gas-based electricity by bioenergy have been assessed. To this end, a methodology has been developed based on an integrated evaluation, incorporating statistical and geographical information system (GIS)-based analysis, and a life-cycle-assessment approach. Results reveal that the environmentally sustainable generation potential is nearly 141 TWh/year, mainly concentrated in the South, Southeast, and Midwest regions of the country. Sugarcane, soybean and maize crop residues are the major feedstocks for available bioenergy. On the other hand, the economic potential is far lower, accounting to 39 TWh/year. The total GHG mitigation is nearly 18 million tonne CO 2 e and could reach 64 million tonne CO 2 e yearly, if the technical potential is considered. The gap between technical and economic potentials implies that constraints to bioenergy are not related to a lack of resources, but rather associated to economic, logistical, regulatory and political barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work evaluates implications of incorporating LCA-GHG (life cycle assessment of GHG emissions) into the optimisation of the power generation mix of Brazil through 2050, under baseline and low-carbon scenarios. Furthermore, this work assesses the impacts of enacting a tax on LCA-GHG emissions as a strategy to mitigate climate change. To this end, a model that integrates regional life cycle data with optimised energy scenarios was developed using the MESSAGE-Brazil integrated model. Following a baseline trend, the power sector in Brazil would increasingly rely on conventional coal technologies. GHG emissions from the power sector in 2050 are expected to increase 15-fold. When enacting a tax on direct-carbon emissions, advanced coal and onshore wind technologies become competitive. GHG emissions peak at 2025 and decrease afterwards, reaching an emission level 40% lower in 2050 than that of 2010. However, if impacts were evaluated through the entire life cycle of power supply systems, LCA-GHG emissions would be 50% higher in 2050 than in 2010. This is due to loads associated with the construction of plant infrastructures and extraction and processing of fossil fuel resources. Thus, taxes might not be as effective in tackling GHG emissions as shown by past studies, if they are only applied to direct emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study analyses the Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) potential in Brazil and evaluates the impact caused by a large-scale integration of this alternative into the Brazilian electricity system in the long term (horizon 2040). Four types of CSP plants with parabolic troughs (simple plants, plants with hybridization and plants with thermal energy storage) were simulated at two sites: Bom Jesus da Lapa and Campo Grande. Then, the main parameters obtained for each plant were expanded to other suitable Brazilian sites, as inputs in an optimization model for the expansion of the country's electric power grid. Findings indicate that the least-cost expansion of the Brazilian electricity system should be based on hydroelectric and thermoelectric plants fueled by natural gas and sugarcane bagasse. Hence, in the base scenario CSP plants would not be chosen. However, in an alternative scenario, specific auctions for CSP can be adopted. In this case, the first solar plants would be introduced in 2020 in place of natural gas-fueled thermoelectric plants, and from 2030 on, hydroelectric plants would cease to be installed. This alternative scenario would be about 144 billion dollars dearer than the base. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Renewable Energy development can generate co-benefits, such as jobs, income, and economic output. Concentrated Solar Power technology is a key technology for the electric power sector decarbonization as it generates dispatchable electricity, while also creates direct, indirect and induced jobs. Using an innovative methodology, this study estimates the socioeconomic co-benefits of Concentrated Solar Power deployment in a developing country, where most of its potential is located in sites with low-income population. First, local content scenarios were defined based on the assessment of the installed and idle capacities of the country's industry (at the national and local levels) throughout the Concentrated Solar Power value chain. Then, these scenarios are applied to an interregional Input-Output model to estimate direct, indirect and induced jobs, income and economic output generated by the deployment of a 300 MW solar thermal programme. Findings refer to the regional and national levels, emphasizing that the analysis of Concentrated Solar Power impacts should focus on the mesoscale (regional level instead of national levels only). Depending on the local content scenario, findings show that the proposed Concentrated Solar Power development could generate between 45.40 and 61.21 jobs (direct, indirect and induced) per MW installed, and 0.94 to 1.29 million of United States Dollar (income) per MW installed. • Assessment of Brazil's local industry through the industrial capabilities for developing CSP plants in the semi-arid region. • Estimation of socioeconomic co-benefits using a regionalized Input-Output Model. • 24.33–30.77 jobs/MWe, 0.45–0.58 USD/MWe of income and 1.64–2.12 USD/MWe of output generated in Bahia state. • 21.07–30.38 jobs/MWe, 0.49–0.71 USD/MWe of income and 1.61–2.37 USD/MWe of output generated in the rest of Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) caused an estimated 4.2 million deaths worldwide in 2015. However, PM emission standards for power plants vary widely. To explore if the current levels of these standards are sufficiently stringent in a simple cost-benefit framework, we compared the health benefits (avoided monetized health costs) with the control costs of tightening PM emission standards for coal-fired power plants in Northeast (NE) Brazil, where ambient PM concentrations are below World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. We considered three Brazilian PM 10 (PM x refers to PM with a diameter under x micrometers) emission standards and a stricter U.S. EPA standard for recent power plants. Our integrated methodology simulates hourly electricity grid dispatch from utility-scale power plants, disperses the resulting PM 2.5 , and estimates selected human health impacts from PM 2.5 exposure using the latest integrated exposure-response model. Since the emissions inventories required to model secondary PM are not available in our study area, we modeled only primary PM so our benefit estimates are conservative. We found that tightening existing PM 10 emission standards yields health benefits that are over 60 times greater than emissions control costs in all the scenarios we considered. The monetary value of avoided hospital admissions alone is at least four times as large as the corresponding control costs. These results provide strong arguments for considering tightening PM emission standards for coal-fired power plants worldwide, including in regions that meet WHO guidelines and in developing countries., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)