Environmental report for Danish electricity and CHP

Transcription

1 Environmental report for Danish electricity and CHP summary of the status year 2012 Energinet.dk is the transmission system operator for electricity and gas in Denmark. In accordance with the Danish Electricity Supply Act, Energinet.dk is obliged to submit an annual environmental report to the Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Building. The environmental report describes the environmental impact of the electricity and CHP sector. Until 2010, Energinet.dk fulfilled this obligation by publishing a printed version of the Environmental Report. From 2011, the Environmental Report has only been available in electronic format at as an integrated part of the Energinet.dk website. Status for 2012 Table 1 shows the change in selected key figures for power generation in Denmark in 2011 and The total Danish power generation fell by 13 per cent from 2011 to 2012, as wet year and favourable prices in the Nordic countries meant larger import of Nordic hydropower in This document is a summary of the environmental report for Danish power and CHP generation for the status year 2012 and contains statutory descriptions: The status for environmental impacts from Danish electricity and CHP in Forecasts for for power generation, fuel consumption and emissions to air. There is a table with the most significant key figures for on the last page. Special conditions for power generation in 2012 The development of market and climatic conditions has considerable significance to the generation and thus for the environmental impact of Danish electricity and CHP. Special conditions in 2012 were: Larger Danish import of Nordic hydropower, extensive wind production and lower electricity consumption meant low thermal power generation The share of fossil fuels for power generation fell to a record-low level. In particular, two larger coal-fired power station units were decommissioned in 2012 (Ensted and Asnæs) The installed capacity of privately owned photovoltaic cell units under 6 kw p was by the end of 2012 approx. 400 MW p. Corresponding to an expected power generation of approx. 1 per cent of the Danish electricity consumption in Table 1 Changes in key figures from 2011 to was a wind year of 95.5 per cent of a normal wind year and although the wind energy content in 2012 was a bit lower than in 2011, the wind power generation increased by 5 per cent from 2011 to Emission of CO 2 from the Danish power and CHP generation fell by 17.3 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011 and the development thus follows the same tendency as was seen from 2010 to The fall in the last two years is due to a considerable fall in generation from the thermal power stations based on coal, oil and natural gas. In comparison, the consumption of biofuels increased considerably from 2009 to 2010, and has subsequently been at a relatively constant and high level. Read more at 1

2 The emission of the acidifying gases sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) and nitrogen oxides (NO x ) fell by 8 per cent and 17 per cent respectively from 2011 to The primary cause of the fall was a lower generation on the larger power stations. Power generation and consumption Below figure 1 shows the development in the power generation and consumption in Denmark for the period Since 1990, a considerable expansion with local combined heat and power plant and wind turbines has taken place in Denmark. The individual peaks in generation for 1996, 2003 and 2006 were due to dry years with high market prices as a result of low water levels in Nordic reservoirs and thus increased power generation in Denmark for among other things export. Power consumption in Denmark increased by approx. 12 per cent from 1990 to A further increase of 10 per cent in power consumption is assumed in the forecast period from 2012 to A majority of this rise stems from an expected gradual introduction of electric boilers, heat pumps and electric vehicles. Significant expansion in wind turbines is expected during the forecast period. Installed wind turbine capacity is expected to increase by approx. 44 per cent in 2022 compared to As a result of this expansion, wind power generation is expected to increase from 10.3 TWh in 2012 to 20.5 TWh in The importance of photovoltaic cells is expected to increase in future by an estimated installation capacity of approx MW in 2022 and a generation of 0.9 TWh equivalent to 2 per cent of the total power generation. Fuel consumption and distribution A time series for the development of fuel consumption at the Danish power stations and CHP plants for the period is shown in Figure 2. Figure 1 Figure 1 Power consumption and generation in Denmark In 2012 the power generation in Denmark was 28,921 GWh, which is approx. 13 per cent lower than in The decrease in the power generation covers a fall in generation from thermal power stations of 20 per cent, and simultaneous increase in generation from wind turbines of 5 per cent. Wind power thus covers approx. 30 per cent of the annual electricity consumption in 2012 against only 2 per cent in The consumption of biofuels (biomass and biogas) has risen markedly in recent years. In 2012 they constituted 19 per cent of the fuel consumption at power station in Denmark. According to the forecast, the share of fuel consumption derived from biofuels will increase to 45 per cent in Power consumption in Denmark fell from by 1 per cent, which among other things is due to the massive increase in installed privately owned photovoltaic cell units. The photovoltaic cells are subject to net settlement and the electricity meter therefore has to run backwards, meaning that the photovoltaic cell generation is observed as a decrease in the power consumption. Figure 2 Fuel consumption in Denmark From 1990 to 2012, the coal share of fuel consumption in the Danish electricity and CHP steadily decreased. This was due to the expansion of local CHP plants based on natural gas Read more at 2

3 and waste as well as the conversion of several power station units to natural gas and biomass. middle of 2012 is also expected to have an impact on NO x emissions. A further reduction in the utilisation of fossil fuels at Danish power stations is expected in the forecast period, as a number of the coal-fired power stations are expected to be converted to firing biomass or decommissioned. Emissions of CO 2, SO 2 and NO x According to the latest statement for 2011, the Danish electricity sector contributes to 32 per cent, 24 per cent and 13 per cent of the total Danish emissions of CO 2, SO 2 and NO x respectively. The development in the emissions of these three substances from Danish power and CHP generation for the period is shown in Figure 3. Since 1990, the emissions of CO 2, SO 2 and NO x have fallen by 41 per cent, 97 per cent and 84 per cent respectively. CO 2 emissions follow the development in fuel consumption at the power stations, and there is therefore substantial variation in historical values, depending on electricity trading with neighbouring countries. Towards 2022, a fall in CO 2 emissions is expected, as a further fuel conversion from coal to biomass will take place at a number of power stations. Other environmental impacts Energinet.dk also reports the emission of the greenhouse gases CH 4 (methane) and N 2 O (dinitrogen oxide), including particles, NMVOC (unburnt hydrocarbons) and CO (carbon monoxide), in the table on page 4. There is also an overview of the generation of residual products. A more detailed description of these environmental impacts is available at Share of renewable energy in 2012 Power generation from renewable energy sources is dominated by wind power, yet also comprises power generation from hydropower, photovoltaic cells, biogas, biomass (straw and wood) and the biodegradable fraction of waste. Figure 4 shows the distribution of RE-based power generation in Denmark in Overall, power generation from renewable energy sources increased by 4 per cent from 2011 to In 2011, power generation from renewable energy sources constituted 41 per cent of the total power generation in Denmark - in 2012 it constituted 49 per cent. Figure 4 Composition of renewable power generation in Denmark Figure 3 Emissions of CO 2, SO 2 and NO x in Denmark The fall in SO 2 emissions can be attributed to the use of fuel with a lower sulphur content and the installation of desulphurisation units at large power stations and waste-fired plants. NOx emissions were reduced primarily because of the installation of denox units and low-nox burners at large power stations. Towards 2022, emissions of SO 2 and NO x are expected to remain at a consistently low level. The introduction of an increased NO x tax as of Specification of power generation from photovoltaic cells in Figure 4 and Table 1 only includes generation from 38 large solar power plants, 980 MWh in total Generation from small-scale privately owned solar power plants is estimated to being approx GWh in RE share in 2020 In the RE directive, Denmark has committed to deriving 30 per cent of its total energy consumption from renewable energy sources by The energy agreement describes how the target can be reached. Our forecasts for the electricity Read more at 3

4 sector show a vast biomass and wind power expansion. In 2020, wind power is expected to meet 52 per cent of Danish electricity demand, while according to the forecast, the RE share will increase to approx. 84 per cent. Data basis for the Environmental Report The data basis comprises reports from Danish power generators with a capacity greater than 5 MWelectricity and/or greater than 20 MWthermal. Against this background, Energinet.dk receives environmental data for facilities that collectively represent 92 per cent of total Danish thermal power generation. Energinet.dk estimates the data for the remaining plants based on generation conditions from previous years. However, please note that upon comparison with other statistical statements, minor deviations can arise due to variances in method and data. For a further description of the methods and data basis including forecast assumptions for the Environmental Report, please refer to the individual documents at Read more at 4

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