The Contribution of Biogas to the Electricity Supply Chain: An Italian Life Cycle Assessment Database

Gabriella Fiorentino, Amalia Zucaro (), Antonietta Cerbone (), Alessandro Giocoli, Vincenzo Motola, Caterina Rinaldi, Simona Scalbi and Giuliana Ansanelli
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Gabriella Fiorentino: ENEA, Division Resource Efficiency, Department for Sustainability, 00196 Rome, Italy
Amalia Zucaro: ENEA, Division Resource Efficiency, Department for Sustainability, 00196 Rome, Italy
Antonietta Cerbone: ENEA, Division Resource Efficiency, Department for Sustainability, 00196 Rome, Italy
Alessandro Giocoli: ENEA, Laboratory Analysis and Modelling of Critical Infrastructures and Essential Services, Division Tools and Services for Critical Infrastructures and Energy Communities, Department Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources, 00196 Rome, Italy
Vincenzo Motola: ENEA, Laboratory Techniques and Processes for Biorefineries, Division Bioenergy, Biorefinery and Green Chemistry, Department Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources, 00196 Rome, Italy
Caterina Rinaldi: ENEA, Division Resource Efficiency, Department for Sustainability, 00196 Rome, Italy
Simona Scalbi: ENEA, Division Resource Efficiency, Department for Sustainability, 00196 Rome, Italy
Giuliana Ansanelli: ENEA, Division Resource Efficiency, Department for Sustainability, 00196 Rome, Italy

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-24

Abstract: The transition towards energy efficiency measures and green energy sources is strongly fostered by the European Union. Italy is among the EU countries that have heavily invested in renewable energy sources, more than doubling their share in gross final energy consumption. In particular, biogas has a pivotal role in the generation of electricity and can also be upgraded into biomethane, with a higher and more stable energy content. In this study, the sustainability of the supply chain of electricity from biogas in Italy has been thoroughly analyzed in the broader framework of the ARCADIA (Life Cycle Approach in Public Procurement and Italian LCA Database for Resource Efficiency) project. The environmental assessment, carried out by means of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), provides a two-fold perspective. Firstly, it allows us to identify the main hotspots of the investigated system, such as the cultivation of dedicated crops, and to provide useful insights for improving environmental performance. Furthermore, a focus on the modeling of the dataset related to the production of electricity from biogas within the Italian electricity mix represents a step ahead in the LCA research, filling the lack of site-specific databases for reliable LCA results.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; life cycle inventory; Italian LCA database; energy supply chain; electricity from biogas; Italian electricity mix (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: 2024
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