Insights from Past Trends in Exergy Efficiency and Carbon Intensity of Electricity: Portugal, 1900–2014

Laura Felício, Sofia Henriques, André Serrenho, Tiago Domingos and Tânia Sousa
Additional contact information
Laura Felício: MARETEC—Marine, Environment and Technology Center, LARSyS, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
André Serrenho: Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK
Tânia Sousa: MARETEC—Marine, Environment and Technology Center, LARSyS, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-22

Abstract: We use the societal exergy analysis to identify periods and factors controlling efficiency dilution and carbon deepening of electricity in Portugal from 1900 to 2014. Besides estimating the carbon intensity of electricity production, we propose a new indicator, the carbon intensity of electricity use, which quantifies CO 2 /kWh of electricity derived useful exergy. Results show final to useful efficiency dilution until World War I (50% to 30%) due to a decrease in share of the high-efficiency transport sector and from mid-1940s to 1960 and mid-1990s onwards (58% to 47% and 47% to 40%) due to an increase in share of the low efficiency commercial and residential sector. Decarbonization from 1900 to mid-1960s, with carbon intensities of electricity production and use dropping respectively from 12.8 to 0.2 and from 33.6 to 0.4 kg CO 2 /kWh due to an increase in thermoelectricity efficiencies and an increase in share of hydro. Then, a period of carbon deepening until 1990 with carbon intensities tripling due to a shift in shares from hydro to thermoelectricity and more recently a period of decarbonization with carbon intensities decreasing to 0.35 and 0.9 kg CO 2 /kWh, due to the increase in renewable electricity despite a dilution in final to useful efficiency.

Keywords: electricity; exergy efficiency; aggregate carbon intensity; societal exergy accounting (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: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/3/534/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/3/534/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:3:p:534-:d:204256

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().