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We calculated emissions due to electricity loss on the power grid – globally, it's a lot
Source: theconversation.com
Article summary:
1. A recent Nature Climate Change article argues that reducing wastage in the power sector, specifically on the grid, can be a critical lever in lowering national emissions.
2. Worldwide compensatory emissions amount to nearly a billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents a year, and 500 million metric tons of carbon dioxide can be cut by improving global grid efficiencies.
3. Solutions for reducing transmission and distribution losses include technical solutions such as replacing inefficient wires and using superconductors, as well as non-technical solutions such as better management of load and distribution of power, adopting digital technologies for routing power flows, and addressing factors such as weak governance, corruption and poverty.
Article analysis:
The article is generally reliable and trustworthy in its reporting on strategies for slowing the effects of climate change through reducing wasted energy on the power grid. The article provides detailed information on how electricity is generated at central power stations before being sent through high-voltage transmission lines over long distances before being sent locally over what’s called the distribution network – the poles and wires that connect to end consumers. It also explains how resistance in the metal wires causes heat which results in some of the energy from the fuel used to produce the electricity to be lost in transit.
The article then goes on to explain how they used a method called life cycle assessment to quantify greenhouse gas emissions from this process, based on each country's unique electricity mix and transmission and distribution losses. It also provides examples of countries with large shares of fossil fuel generation and inefficient grid infrastructure (e.g., India with 19% losses in 2016), as well as more developed countries with lower losses (e.g., US with 6% losses).
The article then outlines potential solutions for reducing transmission and distribution losses including technical solutions such as replacing inefficient wires and using superconductors, as well as non-technical solutions such as better management of load and distribution of power, adopting digital technologies for routing power flows, etc. It also notes that surprisingly few countries included transmission and distribution losses in their national commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emission under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The only potential bias or missing point of consideration is that while it mentions non-technical solutions such as addressing factors like weak governance, corruption or poverty, it does not provide any further details or evidence about how these issues could be addressed or what specific steps could be taken to do so.