Technologies to Achieve Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

Transmission investments are currently needed to meet an increasing electricity demand, to address security of supply concerns, and to reach carbon-emissions targets. A key issue when assessing the benefits from an expanded grid concerns the valuation of the uncertain cash flows that result from the expansion. We propose a valuation model that accommodates both physical and economic uncertainties following the Real Options approach. It combines optimization techniques with Monte Carlo simulation. We illustrate the use of our model in a simplified, two-node grid and assess the decision whether to invest or not in a particular upgrade. The generation mix includes coal- and natural gas-fired stations that operate under carbon constraints. The underlying parameters are estimated from observed market data. Full article

Automotive manufacturing is energy-intensive. The consumed energy contributes to the generation of significant amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the automotive manufacturing industry. In this paper, a study is conducted on assessing the application potential of such clean energy power systems as solar PV, wind and fuel cells in reducing the GHG emissions of the global auto manufacturing industry. The study is conducted on the representative solar PV, wind and fuel cell clean energy systems available on the commercial market in six representative locations of GM’s global facilities, including the United States, Mexico, Brazil, China, Egypt and Germany. The results demonstrate that wind power is superior to other two clean energy technologies in the economic performance of the GHG mitigation effect. Among these six selected countries, the highest GHG emission mitigation potential is in China, through wind power supply. The maximum GHG reduction could be up to 60 tons per $1,000 economic investment on wind energy supply in China. The application of wind power systems in the United States and Germany could also obtain relatively high GHG reductions of between 40–50 tons per $1,000 economic input. When compared with wind energy, the use of solar and fuel cell power systems have much less potential for GHG mitigation in the six countries selected. The range of median GHG mitigation values resulting from solar and wind power supply are almost at the same level. Full article