A Comparison of Electricity Generation System Sustainability among G20 Countries

Jinchao Li, Xian Geng and Jinying Li
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Jinchao Li: School of Economics and Management, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Xian Geng: Medical College, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
Jinying Li: Department of Economic Management, North China Electric Power University, Baoding 071000, China

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 12, 1-11

Abstract: Planning for electricity generation systems is a very important task and should take environmental and economic factors into account. This paper reviews the existing metrics and methods in evaluating energy sustainability, and we propose a sustainability assessment index system. The input indexes include generation capacity, generation cost, and land use. The output indexes include desirable and undesirable parts. The desirable outputs are total electricity generation and job creation. The undesirable outputs are external supply risk and external costs associated with the environment and health. The super-efficiency data envelopment analysis method is used to calculate the sustainability of electricity generation systems of 23 countries from 2005 to 2014. The three input indexes and three undesirable output indexes are used as the input variables. The two desirable outputs are used as the output variables. The results show that most countries’ electricity generation sustainability values have decreasing trends. In addition, nuclear and hydro generation have positive effects. Solar, wind, and fossil fuel generation have negative effects on sustainability.

Keywords: sustainability assessment; electricity generation system; super-efficiency data envelopment analysis; G20 countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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