increased use of renewable energy is better at reducing greenhouse gases than adding carbon capture and storage to existing power plants - commercial energy storage systems
A new study shows that renewable energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines are more effective than carbon capture technologies in reducing greenhouse gases.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS)
Is a technology that can capture up to 90 of carbon dioxide (CO2)
From power plants and factories.
These measures eliminate emissions from power generation and industrial processes and prevent carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
International climate change model
In the Paris agreement
Based on the installation of carbon capture devices in coal and natural gas power stations.
But for the first time, this study compares the two technologies, suggesting that building more renewable energy will have the same effect while using less energy.
The international research team has shown that resources that will be used to develop and install these technologies will better invest in renewable energy.
Given the resources needed to create and run the systems needed for carbon capture, they found that investing in wind farms and solar panels, as well as various energy storage, created more energy. Co-
Dr. Denes Csala, lecturer in energy storage and systems dynamics at Lancaster University, said it is more valuable and dynamic, putting available energy resources directly into building new renewable energy and storage capabilities.
"The net energy return on investing in renewable energy is better, which makes it more likely to achieve emissions targets without reducing the risk of energy supply due to reduced fossil fuel supply and climate change --
Emissions budgets are limited, he said.
Given the net energy disadvantage of carbon, carbon capture and storage should be seen as a niche and complementary contributor to the energy system, rather than as a key technology option considered by the current climate agreement.
Carbon capture is a new or untapped technology that can capture coal and gas emissions
Thermal power plant.
Dr. Csala said that they played an important role in the model on which the international climate change reduction agreement was based.
This includes the Paris climate change agreement of 2015.
An international treaty preventing global temperatures from rising by more than 2 degrees
The Industrial Age by the end of this century.
However, an international research team has shown that it would be better to use resources for the development and installation of these technologies for renewable energy.
The study shows that creating more solar panels and wind turbines and focusing on developing more energy storage options will improve resource efficiency.
Dr. Csala calculated how much energy the current plan to invest in carbon capture will generate.
This takes into account the resources needed to create and operate the system required for carbon capture at a range of coal, oil and gas power stations.
He then calculated how much energy would be generated when investing the same amount in renewable energy.
Even at the worst of times
Renewable energy and best case scenario
Carbon capture-
Investing in wind farms and solar panels, as well as various energy storage systems such as batteries, hydrogen or pumped water and electricity, creates more energypower.
Even renewable energy with moderate efficiency
The weather is not particularly sunny or windy.
Better energy returns than most carbon capture technologies.
Dr. Csala said that this is partly due to the net energy needed to achieve carbon capture, called "embodied energy ".
They include the resources needed to create and run the system, as well as the equipment needed to capture and store carbon, such as pipes and compressors, which also require production energy.
According to this study, all of this led to a reduction in net energy output from carbon capture power stations.
The study was published in the journal Natural Energy.