Study: Tesla car battery production releases as much CO2 as 8 years of driving on gas

http://climatechangedispatch.com/study-tesla-car-battery-production-releases-as-much-co2-as-8-years-of-driving-on-gas/

Enormous hopes are linked to electric cars as the solution to the automotive industry’s climate problems. However, electric car batteries are eco-villains during their manufacturing. Several tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) are generated even before the batteries leave the factory.

IVL The Swedish Environment Institute has, on behalf of the Swedish Transport Administration and the Swedish Energy Agency, investigated the climate impact of lithium-ion batteries from a life-cycle perspective. The batteries for electric cars were included in the study. The two authors—Lisbeth Dahllöf and Mia Romare—have done a meta-study, that is, reviewed and compiled existing studies.

The report shows that battery manufacturing leads to high emissions. For each kilowatt-hour of storage capacity in the battery, emissions of 150 to 200 kilograms of carbon dioxide are generated in the factory. The researchers have not studied the individual car brand batteries, just how they were produced or what electrical mix they used. But to understand the importance of battery size, two standard electric cars on the market, Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S, have batteries of approximately 30 kWh and 100 kWh respectively.

Even before you buy the car, CO2 emissions equivalent to 5.3 tons and 17.5 tons, respectively, gets produced. The numbers can be difficult to put in context. By way of comparison, a trip for a person returning from Stockholm to New York by air emits more than 600 kilograms of CO2, according to the UN organization ICAO’s calculation model.

Another conclusion of the study is that about half the emissions come from producing the raw materials and the other half from the battery factory. The mining accounts for only a small proportion of between 10-20 percent.

Read more: “The potential of electric cars’ main advantage”

The calculation is based on the assumption that the electricity mix used by the battery factory consists of energy generated by more than 50% fossil fuels. In Sweden, the power production is mainly from fossil fuels, nuclear, and hydropower and why lower emissions had been achieved.

The study also concluded that emissions grow almost linearly with the size of the battery, even if it is pinched by the data in that field. It means that a battery of the Tesla-size contributes more than three times as much emissions as the Nissan Leaf size. It is a result that surprised Mia Romare.

…snip…

Mats-Ola Larsson at IVL has calculated how long you need to drive a gasoline or diesel car before it released as much CO2 as the battery manufacturing produced. The result was 2.7 years of CO2 emissions for a battery the same size as a Nissan Leaf and 8.2 years for a Tesla-sized battery, based on a series of assumptions.

“It’s great for companies and government to embark on ambitious environmental policies and to buy climate-smart cars. But these results show that one should not think of choosing an electric car with a larger battery than is necessary,” he says, pointing out that manufacturers should also address this in the design of instruments.

Cobalt, nickel, and copper are recycled but not the energy required to manufacture the electrodes, says Mia Romare, pointing out that recycling is a resource-saving point rather than a reduction of CO2 emissions.

Peter Kasche from The Energy Agency highlights the close relationship between the battery size and CO2 emissions are important.

In some way, one must really make sure that you optimize the batteries. You should not drive around with a lot of kilowatt hours unnecessarily.

H/T TallBloke TalkShop

Endeavour Energy Focuses On Micro-Grids As Industry Takes “360° Turn”

Australijskie spółki energetyczne inwestują w mikrosieci – w tym baterie akumulatorów

https://cleantechnica.com/2017/06/03/endeavour-energy-focuses-micro-grids-industry-takes-360-turn/

The newly partially privatised NSW network owner Endeavour Energy has flagged a “360 degree” turn in network control and ownership as the energy industry returns to its roots and focuses on localised, renewable energy-based micro-grids.

In announcing a tender for a trial “micro-grid”, Endeavour says new technology means the industry is about to take a “360 degree turn and bring the energy industry back to the days where councils owned and operated” their own networks.

“The modern-day twist is that the councils can be many different entities, such as communities, corporations, developers, councils and network providers,” it says.

“The other major change is the method of generation changing from power stations to renewables such as (solar) PV and wind with the integration of energy storage.”

Endeavour, which supplies electricity to 2.4 million people in Sydney’s Greater West, the Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands, the Illawarra and the South Coast, is taking its first step into micro-grids with a trial to develop cost-effective alternatives to the current model.

Endeavour Energy has been in discussion with various developers within the Endeavour Energy distribution area, who are prepared to work with stakeholders to a successful trial,” it says.

The exact location of the trial is not yet known, but it will be a new development. It will likely include about 200 homes, all of them to be fitted with between 3kW and 5kW of rooftop solar PV (half facing north and half facing west) and a centralised battery storage unit. It did not specify the size for the storage.

It follows another Endeavour tender earlier this year for  a large-scale battery storage array to reduce network costs for a new housing development west of Illawarra.

The 1MWh battery system is set to be installed at the proposed West Dapto Zone Substation, with the network operator believing it could reduce network capital costs by $1 million a year.

Endeavour is just the latest to consider micro-grids as an alternative to the long-established model of centralised generation and elongated networks, particularly as the cost of renewables and storage fall below the cost of network supply, and because they actually increase security, particularly in regards to storms and bushfires.

Western Power has talked of a new “modular” network design (see image right) that would create isolated micro-grids and other micro-grids with a “thin wire” connection to a main grid.

Western Power recognises that renewable-based micro-grids will provide cheaper, cleaner and more secure electricity supply, a view shared by Ergon Energy in Queensland, and by Horizon Energy in regional WA, which is looking at replacing fossil fuels with local renewable and storage.

Other network operators in South Australia, Victoria and NSW are also looking at micro-grid opportunity and “embedded networks”, where a local supply of solar and storage meets the needs of consumers in aged care communities, gated communities and shopping centres and the like..

Once the trial for the new development is complete, Endeavour is looking at how it might be applied in existing suburbs and communities – hence the prospect of returning ownership of networks to councils, communities or businesses.

“The projected growth within the embedded networks extends beyond micro-grids and can expand into brownfield areas and existing apartment blocks,” Endeavour says, noting that it would reduce the requirement for new zone substations and other network infrastructure.

The Endeavour tender closes on June 20.

Reprinted with permission.