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Comparative environmental assessment of unconventional power installations

  • Energy Conservation, New and Renewable Energy Sources
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Abstract

Procedure of the strategic environmental assessment of the power installations operating on the basis of renewable energy sources (RES) was developed and described. This procedure takes into account not only the operational process of the power installation but also the whole life cycles: from the production and distribution of power resources for manufacturing of the power installations to the process of their recovery. Such an approach gives an opportunity to make a more comprehensive assessment of the influence of the power installations on environments and may be used during adaptation of the current regulations and development of new regulations for application of different types of unconventional power installations with due account of the ecological factor. Application of the procedure of the integrated environmental assessment in the context of mini-HPP (Hydro Power Plant); wind, solar, and biogas power installations; and traditional power installation operating natural gas was considered. Comparison of environmental influence revealed advantages of new energy technologies compared to traditional ones. It is shown that solar energy installations hardly pollute the environment during operation, but the negative influence of the mining operations and manufacturing and utilization of the materials used for solar modules is maximum. Biogas power installations are on the second place as concerns the impact on the environment due to the considerable mass of the biogas installation and gas reciprocating engine. The minimum impact on the environment is exerted by the mini-HPP. Consumption of material and energy resources for the production of the traditional power installation is less compared to power installations on RES; however, this factor incomparably increases when taking into account the fuel extraction and transfer. The greatest impact on the environment is exerted by the operational process of the traditional power installations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University, ul. Minina 24, Nizhny Novgorod, 603950, Russia

    E. N. Sosnina, O. V. Masleeva & E. V. Kryukov

Authors
  1. E. N. Sosnina
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  2. O. V. Masleeva
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  3. E. V. Kryukov
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Correspondence to E. N. Sosnina.

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Original Russian Text © E.N. Sosnina, O.V. Masleeva, E.V. Kryukov, 2015, published in Teploenergetika.

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Sosnina, E.N., Masleeva, O.V. & Kryukov, E.V. Comparative environmental assessment of unconventional power installations. Therm. Eng. 62, 539–546 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0040601515080078

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0040601515080078

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