Sustainability Analysis
Sustainability Analysis
Overview
ETAP's Sustainability Analysis module estimates the carbon footprint of electrical networks by tracking electricity generation from sources and consumption across network elements, such as loads and distribution systems, over time. The tool utilizes region-specific, time-varying emission factors from a dataset covering 172 balancing authorities worldwide, providing critical insights to improve accessibility. Custom values can also be entered to ensure flexibility in regions where data is unavailable.
When performing a life-cycle assessment (LCA), these calculations enable users designing a new electrical network to estimate the following over the simulation time horizon (i.e., time domain analysis):
- Total Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions of the designed electrical network over time,
- GHG emissions from local generation and from electricity consumed from the local utility,
- GHG emissions resulting from SF6 leakage in certain electrical components,
- Contributions to GHG emissions from loads and electricity losses in each network component,
- Potential GHG emissions reductions relative to a baseline (set by the user or calculated from a reference electrical design, for example, a design without renewable energy sources),
- Potential GHG emissions reductions from local generation,
- Potential GHG emissions reductions from supplying renewable power to the local utility (used for phase D calculations, if applicable).
For annual greenhouse gas emissions reporting, such as reporting aligned with the GHG Protocol, users can apply these calculations with on-site electricity metering and measurement data.
Key Features
- Enhance the accuracy of GHG emissions estimates for purchased electricity (Scope 2) and on-site electricity production (Scope 1, where applicable).
- Estimate GHG emission reductions from reinjecting renewable energy (RES) into the grid.
- Account for GHG emissions caused by SF6 leaks.
- Use time-varying average emission factors (1-hour intervals).
- Apply time-varying marginal emission factors (5-minute intervals).
- Perform Time-Domain Load Flow analysis with detailed source and load profiles.
- Access up-to-date emission factors for balancing authorities.
- Get a comprehensive summary of electrical network emissions.
- Compare emissions data from two separate studies.
- Utilize a fully customizable dashboard for insights and tracking.
- Generate pre-filled Word reports with ease.
Key Benefits
- Accelerate the detailed analysis of GHG emissions for your electrical system.
- Increase the granularity of your GHG emissions analysis, down to each network component.
- Transition from estimates based on annual grid averages to precise, time-specific emission data.
- Leverage your existing ETAP network to reduce modeling time and effort.
- Easily visualize and compare results against sustainability goals.
- Optimize decision-making with detailed, time-specific emissions data.
- Simplify reporting and tracking with customizable, pre-filled reports, streamlining the life-cycle assessment process.
etapAPI™
etapAPI is ETAP's public-facing RESTful API. This API can be consumed from any language on any device.
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FAQs
- What are the goals of sustainability studies?
- Assess the carbon or environmental footprint of a product or project using Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies, as described in ISO 14040/14044 or ISO 14067 standards.
- Estimate the carbon or environmental footprint of a company, mainly categorized into three scopes:
- Scope 1: Emissions that occur due to utilizing sources owned or controlled by the reporting entity, such as emissions from on-site diesel generators or company-owned combustion-engine vehicles and equipment.
- Scope 2: Emissions referring to indirect greenhouse gas emissions that result from the consumption of purchased electricity, heat, or steam by the reporting entity. For example, emissions associated with the electricity purchased by a warehouse.
- Scope 3: Emissions referring to all other indirect emissions not covered under Scopes 1 and 2. This may include emissions from purchased goods and services, employee commuting, and business travel. It covers emissions that occur across the entire supply chain of the reporting entity, from the extraction of raw materials to the use and disposal of the final product.
Sustainability studies generally have two distinct goals:
- Why focus on the footprint of the use phase of electrical networks?
Studies from electrical equipment manufacturers show that 70% to 80% of the carbon footprint of an electrical network in a building or infrastructure is attributed to its use phase. Therefore, efforts to reduce GHG emissions from an electrical network should primarily focus on reducing electricity consumption.
- What is included in the carbon or environment footprint over the life-cycle of a project?
The life cycle of a product or project consists of several phases: manufacturing, distribution, use, and end-of-life. The international and European standards ISO 21930 and EN 15804+A2 outline the typical life stages of buildings, and these stages can also be applied to assess the life cycle of an electrical network.
- What ETAP modules are required as prerequisites?
The Sustainability Analysis module requires the Time-Domain Load Flow module and Datahub, with Datahub being part of the ETAP base package. Datahub hosts the ETAP API locally, allowing seamless communication with ETAP through a specific port, which provides the necessary data for accurately estimating the carbon footprint and conducting life-cycle assessments of electrical networks.
- What are the differences between the "Basic" and "Pro" licenses?
Feature
Basic Pro CO2 calculations X* X Reports (raw, dashboard, Word) X X Region map (pan, zoom, click) X Region latest values X Region historical data X * Limited to static emission rates
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