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A “Grammar” for assessing the performance of power-supply systems: Comparing nuclear energy to fossil energy Journal Article
Diaz-Maurin, François; Giampietro, Mario
In: Energy, 49 (1), pp. 162–177, 2013, ISSN: 03605442.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Biophysical economics, Fossil energy, Integrated analysis, Nuclear energy, Power generation, Power-supply systems
@article{Diaz-Maurin2013,
title = {A “Grammar” for assessing the performance of power-supply systems: Comparing nuclear energy to fossil energy},
author = {Fran\c{c}ois Diaz-Maurin and Mario Giampietro},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0360544212008754},
doi = {10.1016/j.energy.2012.11.014},
issn = {03605442},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-01-01},
journal = {Energy},
volume = {49},
number = {1},
pages = {162--177},
abstract = {This article illustrates an innovative approach for the characterization and comparison of the performance of power-supply systems. The concept of 'grammar' forces to declare the pre-analytical decisions about: (i) semantic and formal categories used for the accounting - primary energy sources (PES), energy carriers (EC), and production factors; (ii) the set of functional and structural elements of the power-supply system included in the analysis. After having tamed the systemic ambiguity associated with energy accounting, it becomes possible to generate a double assessment referring to: (i) external constraints - the consumption of PES and the generation of waste and pollution; and (ii) internal constraints - the requirements of production factors such as human labor, power capacity, internal consumption of EC for making EC. The case study provided compares the production of EC (electricity) with " nuclear energy" and " fossil energy" When considering internal constraints, nuclear energy requires about twice as much power capacity (5.9-9.5 kW/GWh vs. 2.6-2.9 kW/GWh) and 5-8 times more labor (570-640 h/GWh vs. 80-115 h/GWh). Things do not improve for nuclear energy when looking at external constraints - e.g. the relative scarcity of PES. This may explain the difficulties faced by nuclear energy to gain interest from investors. textcopyright 2012 Elsevier Ltd.},
keywords = {Biophysical economics, Fossil energy, Integrated analysis, Nuclear energy, Power generation, Power-supply systems},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
This article illustrates an innovative approach for the characterization and comparison of the performance of power-supply systems. The concept of 'grammar' forces to declare the pre-analytical decisions about: (i) semantic and formal categories used for the accounting - primary energy sources (PES), energy carriers (EC), and production factors; (ii) the set of functional and structural elements of the power-supply system included in the analysis. After having tamed the systemic ambiguity associated with energy accounting, it becomes possible to generate a double assessment referring to: (i) external constraints - the consumption of PES and the generation of waste and pollution; and (ii) internal constraints - the requirements of production factors such as human labor, power capacity, internal consumption of EC for making EC. The case study provided compares the production of EC (electricity) with " nuclear energy" and " fossil energy" When considering internal constraints, nuclear energy requires about twice as much power capacity (5.9-9.5 kW/GWh vs. 2.6-2.9 kW/GWh) and 5-8 times more labor (570-640 h/GWh vs. 80-115 h/GWh). Things do not improve for nuclear energy when looking at external constraints - e.g. the relative scarcity of PES. This may explain the difficulties faced by nuclear energy to gain interest from investors. textcopyright 2012 Elsevier Ltd.
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