*7.3. Analysis of Emission Reduction*

Analysis of cost and benefits may be susceptible to external factors, such as changing fuel purchase prices, the cost fluctuation of transporting fuel and etc. In Antarctica, the analysis of cost and benefits may encounter various complicated situations. The risk of oil spill in transport, atmospheric emissions, or hidden cost of maintenance requirements can rarely achieve comprehensive monetization. However, direct cost savings are in reduced use of fossil fuels. Based on the result of a one-year simulation operation of the standalone renewable energy system in Zhongshan Station, it is found that fuel was used to complete the power supply to the load only in August. The monthly fuel consumption of Zhongshan Station is shown in Table 12.


**Table 12.** Monthly fuel consumption of Zhongshan Station.

The existing power supply system of the Antarctic Zhongshan Station has a fuel consumption of 241.33 t per year. The results of simulation operation of the standalone renewable energy system indicate that fuel consumption can be reduced to 2.08 t. The standalone renewable energy system has provided an average annual fuel saving of around 98.8%. Refer to the operation results of Australia's Mawson Station, which is similar in size to Zhongshan Station, Mawson Station used about 0.7 million liters of diesel fuel annually to provide power and heating. Through the introduction of renewable energy supply, the annual fuel saving of Mawson Station was around 32%, equivalent to a saving of 2918 t of carbon dioxide during the first six years of operation [10]. The estimated annual carbon dioxide emissions of existing power supply system of the Antarctic Zhongshan Station were 616.4 t and Zhongshan Station's estimated annual carbon dioxide emissions were 5.3 t in the year of simulation, which can reduced carbon emissions by 611.1 t in one year and 3666.6 t of carbon dioxide during the first six years of operation.

The use of the standalone renewable energy system will improve the health of the local environment and reduce the cost of environmental governance.

### *7.4. Costs and Benefits of Renewable Energy Applications in Antarctica*

Mawson Station has built a wind farm which costs about 8.9 million Australian dollars. The cost of a wind turbine was 0.74 million Australian dollars. Undiscounted simple payback period of the wind farm in Antarctica is estimated to be from 5 to 12 years. For South Pole Station, the project of installing nine 100 KW wind turbines was estimated to cost approximately 4.3 million US dollars. In McMurdo Station, a 1 MW wind turbine has cost 2–3 million US dollars. Net savings of this project remain 1–4 million US dollars over a 20-year life span. Similarly, SANAE IV Station of South Africa has installed a 100 KW turbine with a simple undiscounted payback period of about 10 years. The simple undiscounted payback period of PV system is shorter than wind turbine. For example, a solar thermal system at SANAE IV Station has a payback period of 6 years by saving 10,000 L fuel annually. In the preliminary research stage of the standalone renewable energy system in Zhongshan Station, it is hard to accurately estimate cost savings after the introduction of renewable energy. However, based on the cost savings estimate of other stations, the use of the standalone renewable energy system was estimated to save approximately 1.43 million US dollars in one year.
