ORCID Profile
0000-0002-4969-028X
Current Organisations
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)
,
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
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Publisher: Zenodo
Date: 2020
Publisher: Zenodo
Date: 2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2023
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 24-11-2022
Abstract: Transitioning to more sustainable energy technologies is a vital step in the move toward reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. However, several physical constraints could hinder the implementation of these technologies, and many of the raw materials required to produce new infrastructure are scarce, nonrenewable, and nonsubstitutable. Various factors relating to material extraction and processing activities may also affect the security and sociopolitical aspects of future supply lines. Here, we introduce methods for quantifying three key indicators relating to raw material supplies for specific production processes: (1) overall supply risk, (2) environmental impacts from sourcing raw materials, and (3) environmental justice threats at sourcing locations. The use of the proposed methods is demonstrated via an exploratory case study examining projected electricity production scenarios within the European Union. Results suggest that renewable sources of electricity─particularly wind, solar, and geothermal technologies─are more likely to exacerbate supply risks and environmental issues than other technologies. Furthermore, projected expansions of wind and solar technologies mean that all three indicators appear likely to rise significantly systemwide by 2050. Ultimately, the methods represent a much-needed first attempt at providing practitioners with simple and robust approaches for integrating factors relating specifically to raw material supply into energy modeling and other applications.
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 06-2022
Abstract: The transition to clean energy will require significant increases in electricity sourced from renewable energy technologies. While wind and solar photovoltaic sources are generally expected to overtake hydropower to dominate the renewable electricity supply market, numerous other technologies vie for a share in this rapidly evolving arena. To date, predicting the emergence of different technologies has relied on large-scale energy models that employ simplified optimisations of economic and emissions reductions outcomes. This is problematic as many additional factors, largely underrepresented in current models, are likely to co-determine technological emergence storylines in the real world. Here, we present a summary of the best available information for five key factors as they apply to the seven most common renewable electricity technology categories. The findings suggest that wind and solar photovoltaic technologies remain the most likely to dominate the market going forward but could face considerable raw material supply risk issues. Other potentially more desirable alternatives exist but face their own geographic and environmental limitations. Ultimately, the study demonstrates the potential and importance of expanding the use of other relevant factors in the forecasting of energy transition pathways and in the field of energy modelling as a whole.
No related grants have been discovered for Cristina Madrid López.