Environmental performance of high-efficiency natural gas combined cycle plant

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to assess the environmental impact of electricity production from one of the best available gas-fired power plants and to compare it with the current mix of electricity and the supply of electricity from a typical gas plant. The scope of the paper includes gas field exploration, natural gas processing, pipeline transportation, and electricity generation as well as construction and decommissioning of the plant. The influence of efficiency of the plant and natural gas supply from different countries on the results is explored within the sensitivity analysis. The findings indicate that the global warming potential is estimated at 388 g CO2 eq./kWh. The natural gas system described offers major improvements in all considered environmental impacts compared to the typical natural gas electricity generation system, ranging from 4.9% for abiotic depletion potential to 82.1% for acidification potential. Increasing the contribution of natural gas in the electricity mix would reduce only eutrophication, human toxicity, freshwater, and marine aqua ecotoxicity potentials. The lower environmental impacts in this paper are due to the different gas composition, relatively high efficiency assumed as well as the proximity of Turkey to Azerbaijan which reduces transport distances. The results of this study would be of benefit to the future energy market, as natural gas is one of the electricity-producing plants promoted in Turkey.