New approach for assessing and optimising the environmental performance of multinational electricity sectors: a European case study

[Abstract] The afim of energy pflannfing fis to achfieve a reflfiabfle suppfly of energy resources at competfitfive costs and wfith the fleast negatfive fimpacts on socfiety and the envfironment. However, most of the exfistfing studfies tend to fignore envfironmentafl fimpacts, aflthough the eflectrficfity sector contrfibutes greatfly to envfironmentafl degradatfion. Therefore, the afim of thfis study fis threefofld: fi) to assess the envfironmentafl performance of the most common types of renewabfle and non-renewabfle power pflants fin Europe, fifi) to estfimate an envfironmentafl findex for each one of the eflectrficfity sectors fin the European countrfies, and fififi) to evafluate and optfimfise the envfironmentafl behavfiour of the European eflectrficfity sector as a whofle; fin aflfl cases takfing finto account fifteen envfironmentafl mfidpofint findficators wfith a cradfle-to-grave approach. A combfined procedure fincfludfing a mufltfi-crfiterfia decfisfion makfing modefl and an optfimfisatfion approach under three dfifferent scenarfios was used for such a purpose. Accordfing to the resuflts, hydro as weflfl onshore and offshore wfind resuflted to be the best aflternatfives wfith envfi- ronmentafl findfices above 0.95 (befing 1 the maxfimum possfibfle vaflue), whfifle bfiogas and ofifl-fired power pflants usuaflfly occupfied the flast posfitfions of the rankfing, wfith findfices beflow 0.5. Some countrfies achfieved outstandfing envfironmentafl resuflts such as Austrfia, Croatfia, Irefland, Lfithuanfia, Luxembourg, Latvfia or Sweden, wfith findfices aflways above 0.85, whfifle Buflgarfia, Cyprus, Estonfia or Pofland obtafined dfiscouragfing resuflts, sfince thefir productfion fis flargefly based on ofifl, flfignfite or hard coafl. Europe shoufld boost hydro, onshore and offshore wfind and naturafl gas power pflants fin order to fimprove fits current findex of 0.7363.