Prospective Life Cycle Assessment of the Increased Electricity Demand Associated with the Penetration of Electric Vehicles in Spain

Zaira Navas-Anguita, Diego García-Gusano and Diego Iribarren
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Zaira Navas-Anguita: Systems Analysis Unit, IMDEA Energy, Av. Ramón de la Sagra 3, E-28935 Móstoles, Spain
Diego García-Gusano: Systems Analysis Unit, IMDEA Energy, Av. Ramón de la Sagra 3, E-28935 Móstoles, Spain
Diego Iribarren: Systems Analysis Unit, IMDEA Energy, Av. Ramón de la Sagra 3, E-28935 Móstoles, Spain

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: The penetration of electric vehicles (EV) seems to be a forthcoming reality in the transport sector worldwide, involving significant increases in electricity demand. However, many countries such as Spain have not yet set binding policy targets in this regard. When compared to a business-as-usual situation, this work evaluates the life-cycle consequences of the increased electricity demand of the Spanish road transport technology mix until 2050. This is done by combining Life Cycle Assessment and Energy Systems Modelling under three alternative scenarios based on the low, medium, or high penetration rate of EV. In all cases, EV deployment is found to involve a relatively small percentage (<4%) of the final electricity demand. Wind power and waste-to-energy plants arise as the main technologies responsible for meeting the increased electricity demand associated with EV penetration. When considering a high market penetration (20 million EV by 2050), the highest annual impacts potentially caused by the additional electricity demand are 0.93 Mt CO 2 eq, 0.25 kDALY, and 30.34 PJ in terms of climate change, human health, and resources, respectively. Overall, EV penetration is concluded to slightly affect the national power generation sector, whereas it could dramatically reduce the life-cycle impacts associated with conventional transport.

Keywords: climate change; electric vehicle; energy planning; energy systems modelling; human health; life cycle assessment; resources; road transport (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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