Abstract
A widespread implicit assumption is that renewable energy options are approximately low-carbon. However, production and life cycles of such technologies tend to produce CO2 emissions. To minimize life-cycle emissions, one should account for such emissions and implement adequate policies to encourage innovation and adoption of well-performing technologies in this respect. We develop a framework to analyse this issue, grounded in the concepts of ‘energy return on energy invested’ (EROI) and ‘net energy return on carbon invested’ (EROC). Applying these to the main PV technologies and production regions – namely China, EU and USA – displays considerable discrepancies. We conditionally predict the development of average EROI and EROC over time under business-as-usual and low-carbon electricity generation scenarios. A main policy lesson is that without a systemic policy instrument, such as carbon pricing, incentives for low-carbon production of renewable energy options are too weak, which likely will delay a complete transition to a low-carbon economy.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 111234 |
Pages (from-to) | 1-11 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Energy Policy |
Volume | 138 |
Early online date | 3 Jan 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2020 |
Funding
We thank Lewis King and Aljoša Slameršak for helpful comments. Van den Bergh received funding through an ERC Advanced Grant under the EU's Horizon 2020 programme (grant agreement n° 741087 ), and through the “María de Maeztu” program for Units of Excellence , from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities ( MDM-2015-0552 ).
Funders | Funder number |
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EU's Horizon 2020 programme | |
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme | 741087 |
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades | MDM-2015-0552 |
European Research Council |
Keywords
- Climate policy
- EROC
- EROI
- Life-cycle assessment
- PV technologies