1 Introduction
2007 | 2010 | 2012 | |
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Total | 35, 096 | 37,367 | 37,720 |
Power plants | 32,364 | 32,937 | 35,667 |
Thermal power plants, including: | 30,155 | 30,716 | 30,750 |
Hard coal | 20,580 | 20,152 | 20,129 |
Brown coal | 8806 | 9630 | 9704 |
Natural gas | 769 | 934 | 917 |
Hydro power plants | 2209 | 2221 | 2311 |
Industrial power plants | 2504 | 2486 | 2053 |
Wind and other renewable | 229 | 1943 | 2606 |
2 Methodology
2.1 Goal and scope of the study
Type of energy covered by the analysis | Life cycle stages included in the analysis | Time span | Geographical range | Goal of analysis | Functional unit | Data quality |
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• Electrical energy • Heat energy | • Excavation of raw materials • Energy production (power plant infrastructure excluded from the analysis, only transmission infrastructure included) • Energy distribution | • 2007 • 2010 • 2012 | Poland | Determination and comparison of the impact upon the environment as connected with production and supply of electrical energy and heat to a final user | Production and supply of 1 TJ of energy to a user | Specific data (representative of Poland) only as regards percentage of production and transmission of electric and heat energy in the years 2007 and 2010 |
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Energy agencies, i.e. the Energy Market Agency,
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The regulatory office, i.e. the Energy Regulatory Office,
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Input data bought from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) for the two sections: D: 35.1—production, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity and 35.3—production and supply of steam, hot water and air to air-conditioning systems. It covers the consumption of materials, emissions and the volume of waste and sewage generated related to the production and transmission of heat and electricity in the years 2007, 2010 and 2012 including elements of direct exchange with the environment and exchange between the product system and technosphere (Table 3). It is worth emphasising that the data consider the transmission infrastructure and disregard the infrastructure of the power plants themselves. The data are related to a synthesis of the overall energy, material and fuel balance of the whole energy system of the country, not for individual plants. They are classified in sections, divisions, groups according to the Polish Classification of Activities 2007 (PKD 2007) compiled on the basis of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Rev. 2).Table 3The aggregated inventory data for production and transmission of 1 TJ of energy (heat and electrical energy) in the years 2007, 2010 and 2012Inventory elementUnit200720102012InputsSawn timber, chip and fibre wood boardsm3/TJ0.0020.0030.002Soda, sodium hydroxide, sulfuric acidMg/TJ0.0150.0100.012Cement, limeMg/TJ0.1470.2140.1525Hot and cold rolled productsMg/TJ0.0120.0170.0285Tin- and zinc-coated productsMg/TJ0.0010.00070.001Bare wiresMg/TJ0.00200.00190.0024Hard coalMg/TJ70.16666.49860.136Brown coalMg/TJ70.08175.86986.149Natural gas (methane-rich, high nitrogen gas)TJ/TJ0.0630.0640.070Light fuel oilMg/TJ0.0200.0290.026Heavy fuel oilMg/TJ0.2280.2380.209Coke gasTJ/TJ0.0170.0160.014Furnace gasTJ/TJ0.0120.0110.012Cooling system waterth m3/TJ11.010.59.5Water for other technological purposesth m3/TJ0.10.10.1Water from own uptakes (surface and underground)th m3/TJ11.110.69.6OutputsEmissions into the airSO2Mg/TJ0.9010.5140.496NOxMg/TJ0.3350.3240.294COMg/TJ0.0390.0530.076CO2Mg/TJ201.891201.884214.063Dust contaminationMg/TJ0.0490.0290.036Heavy metalskg/TJ0.0890.1820.102SewageTreatedth m3/TJ0.20.30.1Untreatedth m3/TJ9.68.69.1Into surface watersth m3/TJ9.88.89.2WasteSlag, furnace ash and boiler dustsGg/TJ0.00330.00230.0032Fly ash from coal/fly ash from co-combustionGg/TJ0.01780.00630.0063Ash and slag mixtures from wet furnace waste disposalGg/TJNo data0.01080.0143Fly ash and solid waste mixtures from lime methods of exhaust gas desulfurizationGg/TJNo data0.00490.0052
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Output data from both the CSO and Marshal’s Offices—it is obligatory for industry to deliver data about impact on the environment (emissions, water, etc.). On the basis of this data, companies are obliged to pay fees and fines including payments for using the environment, service and concession fees, fees due under the Energy Law and the act on recycling of end-of-life vehicles, and for the purchase of Assigned Amount Units for greenhouse gas emissions, etc. This money provides the budget of The National Fund of Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFEPWM). The NFEPWM is the most significant environmental fund in Poland, and it is mainly used for the implementation of nationwide projects of strategic importance for the country (Kulczycka and Lelek 2014).
Co-products | Volume of production (TJ/year) | Physical allocation factors (%) | ||||
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2007 | 2010 | 2012 | 2007 | 2010 | 2012 | |
Heat | 172,848 | 187,242 | 172,626 | 24.2 | 26.0 | 24.4 |
Electricity | 542,401 | 531,706 | 535,100 | 75.8 | 74.0 | 75.6 |
Total | 715,249 | 718,948 | 707,726 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Co-products | Price (PLN/TJ) | Economic allocation factors (%) | ||||
2007 | 2010 | 2012 | 2007 | 2010 | 2012 | |
Heat | 35,000 | 43,000 | 47,720 | 49.5 | 44.2 | 46.0 |
Electricity | 35,778 | 54,256 | 55,933 | 50.5 | 55.8 | 54.0 |
Total | 70,778 | 97,256 | 103,653 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
2.2 Reliability and representativeness of data sources
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Monthly data on electricity generated
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A balance report on energy carriers
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A balance report on energy carriers and heat infrastructure
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A report on the basic activities of a commercial heat plant
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A report on the basic activities of a commercial hydro power plant
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A report on the power and production of hydro power plants and renewable energy sources
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A report on the consumption of fuels and energy
Year/energy carriers | Ecoinvent V2.2 | 2006 | 2010 | 2012 | 2015 | 2020 | 2025 | 2030 |
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% | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
Hard coal | 55.4 | 58.3 | 53.0 | 49.6 | 44.9 | 40.2 | 32.4 | 35.6 |
Brown coal | 36.3 | 33.8 | 34.7 | 33.3 | 36.5 | 25.6 | 26.8 | 21.0 |
Natural gas | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 5.4 | 6.3 | 6.6 |
Petroleum products | 1.6 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
Nuclear energy | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.7 | 11.7 | 15.7 |
Renewable energy | 2.1 | 2.6 | 6.2 | 10.4 | 12.1 | 19.3 | 20.2 | 18.8 |
Water | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 |
Wind | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.6 |
Biomass | 0.5 | 1.7 | 4.0 | 5.4 | 6.5 | 10.1 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
Biogas | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 5.1 | 4.9 |
Solar | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Water pumping stations | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
Waste | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
Total | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
3 LCA results
Impact category | PL_energy_at_grid_2007 | PL_energy_at_grid_2010 | Change (2010–2007) | PL_energy_at_grid_2012 | Change (2012–2010) | |||
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Carcinogens (kg C2H3Cl eq) | 434 | 514 | ↑ 18 % | 615 | ↑ 20 % | |||
Non-carcinogens (kg C2H3Cl eq) | 2676 | 3539 | ↑ 32 % | 5598 | ↑ 58 % | |||
Respiratory Inorganics (kg PM2.5 eq) | 132 | 100 | ↓ 24 % | 93 | ↓ 7 % | |||
Ionising radiation (Bq C-14 eq) | 430,227 | 443,675 | ↑ 3 % | 406,989 | ↓ 8 % | |||
Ozone layer depletion (kg CFC-11 eq) | 0.001 | 0.025 | ↑ 1742 % | 0.001 | ↓ 94 % | |||
Respiratory organics (kg C2H4 eq) | 7 | 31 | ↑ 330 % | 7 | ↓ 79 % | |||
Aquatic ecotoxicity (kg TEG water) | 54,452,895 | 86,277,384 | ↑ 58 % | 154,527,461 | ↑ 79 % | |||
Terrestrial ecotoxicity (kg TEG soil) | 13,497,584 | 20,560,441 | ↑ 52 % | 36,187,844 | ↑ 76 % | |||
Terrestrial acid/nutria (kg SO2 eq) | 3035 | 2644 | ↓ 13 % | 2390 | ↓ 10 % | |||
Land occupation (m2org.arable) | 753 | 740 | ↓ 2 % | 665 | ↓ 10 % | |||
Global warming (kg CO2 eq) | 217,131 | 219,036 | ↑ 1 % | 228,357 | ↑4 % | |||
Non-renewable energy (MJ primary) | 2,830,082 | 2,974,000 | ↑ 5 % | 2,698,902 | ↓ 9 % | |||
Mineral extraction (MJ surplus) | 635 | 587 | ↓ 8 % | 596 | ↑ 1 % | |||
Pt | % | Pt | % | % | Pt | % | % | |
Carcinogens | 0.17 | 0.3 | 0.20 | 0.3 | ↑ 18 % | 0.24 | 0.3 | ↑ 20 % |
Non-carcinogens | 1.06 | 1.7 | 1.39 | 2.1 | ↑ 31 % | 2.21 | 2.98 | ↑ 59 % |
Respiratory inorganics | 13.07 | 20.7 | 9.90 | 15.1 | ↓ 24 % | 9.16 | 12.3 | ↓ 7 % |
Ionising radiation | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0 % | 0.012 | 0.02 | ↑ 20 % |
Ozone layer depletion | 0.0002 | 0.0003 | 0.0038 | 0.01 | ↑ 1800 % | 0.0002 | 0.0003 | ↓ 95 % |
Respiratory organics | 0.002 | 0.003 | 0.01 | 0.01 | ↑ 400 % | 0.0019 | 0.003 | ↓ 81 % |
Aquatic ecotoxicity | 0.20 | 0.3 | 0.32 | 0.5 | ↑ 60 % | 0.57 | 0.8 | ↑ 78 % |
Terrestrial ecotoxicity | 7.79 | 12.3 | 11.87 | 18.1 | ↑ 52 % | 20.89 | 28.2 | ↑ 76 % |
Terrestrial acid/nutri | 0.23 | 0.4 | 0.20 | 0.3 | ↓ 13 % | 0.18 | 0.2 | ↓ 10 % |
Land occupation | 0.06 | 0.1 | 0.059 | 0.1 | ↓ 2 % | 0.053 | 0.07 | ↓ 10 % |
Global warming | 21.9 | 34.7 | 22.1 | 33.7 | ↑ 1 % | 23.06 | 31.1 | ↑ 4 % |
Non-renewable energy | 18.6 | 29.5 | 19.6 | 29.8 | ↑ 5 % | 17.76 | 23.9 | ↓ 9 % |
Mineral extraction | 0.004 | 0.01 | 0.004 | 0.01 | 0 % | 0.004 | 0.005 | 0 % |
Total environmental impact (single score) (Pt) | 63.2 | 100.0 | 65.7 | 100.0 | +2.5 | 74.1 | 100.0 | +8.5 |
Mean (Pt) | 63.2 | – | 65.6 | – | – | 68.6 | – | – |
Median (Pt) | 62.8 | – | 65.3 | – | – | 68.7 | – | – |
Standard deviation (SD) (Pt) | 3.5 | – | 3.52 | – | – | 6.69 | – | – |
Coefficient of variation (CV) (%) | 5.54 | – | 5.37 | – | – | 9.76 | – | – |
Scenario | Elementary flows and their share in impact category indicator result—per entire product system | Elementary flows as direct environmental aspects in power plants and transmission infrastructure | Elementary flows as indirect environmental aspects in remaining processes |
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PL_energy_at_grid_2007 | Respiratory inorganics = 13.1 Pt (20.7 %)/1 TJ of energy | ||
Emissions to air: SO2 (55 %/0.934 Mg) | 96.5 % | 3.5 % (coal mines and sewage treatment) | |
Emissions to air: NOx (35.5 %/0.368 Mg) | 90.8 % | 9.2 % (coal mines and sewage treatment) | |
Emissions to air: particulates (9.1 %/0.106 Mg) | 46.4 % | 53.6 % (coal mines and sewage treatment) | |
Terrestrial ecotoxicity = 7.8 Pt (12.3 %)/1 TJ of energy | |||
Emissions to soil: aluminium (71.3 %/0.013 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (digested matter production and sewage treatment) | |
Emissions to soil: copper (7.14 %/0.00014 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (sewage treatment) | |
Emissions to soil: zinc (16.7 %/0.00038 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (sewage treatment) | |
Global warming = 21.9 Pt (34.7 %)/1 TJ of energy | |||
Emissions to air: CO2 (97.83 %/214.504 Mg) | 95.1 % | 4.9 % (coal mines. natural gas burning and sewage treatment) | |
Non-renewable energy = 18.6 Pt (29.5 %)/1 TJ of energy | |||
Raw material: coal hard. in ground (66.2 %/98.095 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (hard coal mine) | |
Raw material: coal brown. in ground (27.3 %/78.028 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (brown coal mine) | |
PL_energy_at_grid_2010 | Respiratory inorganics = 9.9 Pt (15.1 %)/1 TJ of energy | ||
Emissions to air: SO2 (42.4 %/0.544 Mg) | 94.5 % | 5.5 % (coal mines and sewage treatment) | |
Emissions to air: NOx (46.5 %/0.367 Mg) | 88.3 % | 11.7 % (coal mines and sewage treatment) | |
Emissions to air: particulates (8.69 %/0.083 Mg) | 35.0 % | 65.0 % (coal mines and sewage treatment) | |
Terrestrial ecotoxicity = 11.9 Pt (18.1 %)/1 TJ of energy | |||
Emissions to soil: aluminium (80.2 %/0.022 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (digested matter production and sewage treatment) | |
Emissions to soil: copper (4.74 %/0.00014 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (sewage treatment) | |
Emissions to soil: zinc (11.5 %/0.00034 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (sewage treatment) | |
Global warming = 22.1 Pt (33.7 %)/1 TJ of energy | |||
Emissions to air: CO2 (97.85 %/216.259 Mg) | 93.4 % | 6.6 % (coal mines. natural gas burning and sewage treatment) | |
Non-renewable energy = 19.6 Pt (29.8 %)/1 TJ of energy | |||
Raw material: coal hard. in ground (59.7 %/93.082 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (hard coal mine) | |
Raw material: coal brown. in ground (25.6 %/77.107 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (brown coal mine) | |
PL_energy_at_grid_2012 | Respiratory inorganics = 9.16 Pt (12.3 %)/1 TJ of energy | ||
Emissions to air: SO2 (44.28 %/0.616 Mg) | 94.2 % | 5.8 % (coal mines and sewage treatment) | |
Emissions to air: NOx (44.64 %/0.327 Mg) | 90.2 % | 9.8 % (coal mines and sewage treatment) | |
Emissions to air: particulates (10.36 %/0.096 Mg) | 37.7 % | 62.3 % (coal mines and sewage treatment) | |
Terrestrial ecotoxicity = 20.9 (28.2 %) Pt/1 TJ of energy | |||
Emissions to soil: aluminium (86.36 %/0.041 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (digested matter production and sewage treatment) | |
Emissions to soil: copper (3.37 %/0.00018 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (sewage treatment) | |
Emissions to soil: zinc (8.23 %/0.0005 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (sewage treatment) | |
Global warming = 23.1 Pt (31.1 %)/1 TJ of energy | |||
Emissions to air: CO2 (97.25 %/226.115 Mg) | 93.3 % | 6.7 % (coal mines. natural gas burning and sewage treatment) | |
Non-renewable energy = 17.8 Pt (23.9 %)/1 TJ of energy | |||
Raw material: coal hard. in ground (59.6 %/84.15 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (hard coal mine) | |
Raw material: coal brown. in ground (32.0 %/87.307 Mg) | 0.0 % | 100.0 % (brown coal mine) |
4 Discussion of the results
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0.934 Mg SO2, 0.368 Mg NOx, 0.106 Mg particulates in 2007
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0.544 Mg of SO2, 0.367 Mg of NOx, 0.083 Mg particulates in 2010
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0.616 Mg of SO2, 0.327 Mg of NOx, 0.096 Mg particulates in 2012