Energy Externalities Day 8: Diesel
Diesel powered electricity generation is a niche common on isolated island grids like El Hierro and in certain countries, like the UK, recently adopted as peaking plants. They have the advantage that they can quickly and easily be switched on and off and the disadvantage that they are expensive to run. Answering some of the questions below for diesel is a bit tricky. For example, when it comes to fatalities we need to consider fatal accidents in the Global oil production and refining industries. But diesel for power generation uses only a tiny fraction of global oil production (<1%?). Power diesel accidents therefore need to be pro-rated accordingly but then adjusted to the amount of electricity produced. Not an easy task to scale in your head.
The Externalities of Energy Production Systems (Day 1 Coal)
Energy Externalities Day 2: Gas-fired-CCGT
Energy Externalities Day 3: Biomass-Fired-Electricity
Energy Externalities Day 4: Nuclear Power
Energy Externalities Day 5: Wind Power
Energy Externalities Day 6: Hydroelectric Power
Energy Externalities Day 7: Solar Photo Voltaics
I am proposing to use 12 metrics to measure costs and benefits:
- Fatalities / year / unit of energy produced
- Chronic illness years / year / unit of energy produced
- Environmental costs not covered directly by the system operators
- Foot print of energy system per unit of energy produced
- Energy system costs where energy source transfers costs to the transmission system
- Energy system benefits where energy source provides a service to the transmission system
- Environmental benefits derived from energy system operation
- Taxes raised / year / for total energy produced
- Subsidies paid / year / for total energy produced
- Tax free cost of energy
- EroEI
- Resource availability
For the following 12 electricity generating systems
- Coal-fired (Monday 19 March)
- Gas-fired (Tuesday 20 March)
- Biomass-fired
- Diesel
- Nuclear
- Hydro electric
- Wind
- Solar PV
- Solar thermal
- Wave
- Tidal
- barrage
- lagoon
- stream
- Geothermal
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
