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•Levelised wind farm cost of €42.3/MWhe gives levelised H2 cost of €3.77/kg.•Hybrid (PtG) business case depends on hydrogen value, not curtailment abatement.•€4/kgH2, 17% curtailment ...required for hybrid system NPV to exceed wind farm alone.•30% fall in PtG costs would allow H2 only system to equal wind farm profitability.•System benefits of PtG may allow for significant valoristaion or incentivisation.
Accommodating renewables on the electricity grid may hinder development opportunities for offshore wind farms (OWFs) as they begin to experience significant curtailment or constraint. However, there is potential to combine investment in OWFs with Power-to-Gas (PtG), converting electricity to hydrogen via electrolysis for an alternative/complementary revenue. Using historic wind speed and simulated system marginal costs data this work models the electricity generated and potential revenues of a 504 MW OWF. Three configurations are analysed; (1) all electricity is sold to the grid, (2) all electricity is converted to hydrogen and sold, and (3) a hybrid system where power is converted to hydrogen when curtailment occurs and/or when the system marginal cost is low, with the effect of curtailment analysed in each scenario. These represent the status quo, a potential future configuration, and an innovative business model respectively. The willingness of an investor to build PtG are determined by changes to the net present value (NPV) of a project. Results suggest that configuration (1) is most profitable and that curtailment mitigation alone is not sufficient to secure investment in PtG. By acting as an artificial floor in the electricity price, a hybrid configuration (3) is promising and increases NPV for all hydrogen values greater than €4.2/kgH2. Hybrid system attractiveness increases with curtailment only if the hydrogen value is significantly above the levelised cost of €3.77/kgH2. In order for an investor to choose to pursue configuration (2), the offshore wind farm would have to anticipate 8.5% curtailment and be able to receive €4.5/kgH2, or 25% curtailment and receive €4/kgH2. The capital costs and discount rates are the most sensitive parameters and ambitious combinations of technology improvements could produce a levelised cost of €3/kgH2.
Transportation accounts for about 30% of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. To reduce GHG emissions, significant changes in the transportation fleet have been considered, ...with electric vehicles as one of the alternatives that could potentially reduce GHG emissions. This paper presents a comprehensive lifecycle emission and cost comparison among electric vehicles. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), full battery electric vehicles (EVs), hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are compared with gasoline vehicle as the base case. Since the selection among these electric vehicles depends on several factors, external costs of emission, fuel, time loss, charging time loss and maintenance cost are considered. The results show that the most environmentally benign vehicles in terms of GHG emission are FCEV and full EVs, which is approximately half of the emission by Internal combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles. The results also show that both FCVs and EVs have better air quality related emission reduction compared to ICE vehicle which results in approximately accounts for 84% reduction. The lifecycle cost results show that HEVs have the lowest lifecycle cost among all the selected vehicles, with the cost of $0.38 per mile. In addition, the effect of Carbon damage cost on total lifecycle cost is investigated. The results show that an increase in Carbon damage cost results in the penetration of HEVs and EVs to the market share.
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•To calculate the lifecycle emission and lifecycle cost of EVs.•To conduct a sensitivity analysis with several important parameters such as annual travel mile and carbon damage cost.•To determine the state based optimal selection of electric vehicles and their comparisons.•Consideration of two scenarios for optimal selection of EVs in the US (i.e., one for current condition and 2030 projection).
The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the economic feasibility of the BIPV system as a building envelope material for the whole building skins. The paper is dealing with the lifecycle cost ...analysis (LCCA) of BIPV system in the capitals of all the European Union member states (EU) as well as the capitals of Norway and Switzerland.
The results revealed that by a discount rate of zero, BIPV system could refund all the investment even on the north facades while in terms of traditional building envelope materials as an alternative option for building skins, there would be rarely added benefits after investment. Furthermore, the societal and environmental benefits of a BIPV system in Europe have its greatest impact on the south façade. Moreover, for all the studied directions of building skins with a discount rate of five present in Europe except the north facade, just the quantified amount of societal and environmental advantages of BIPV systems could almost reimburse all the invested money.
The results illustrated that the BIPV system as a building envelope material for the whole building skins could reimburse not only all the investment costs but also become a source of income for the building.
•BIPV is presented as a building envelope material for the whole building skins.•Economic analyses of a BIPV system in 30 countries are presented.•NPV, DPP, and IRR calculation for BIPV as a material for the whole building skins are done.•Replacing conventional façade materials with BIPV modules for building skins is feasible.
When optimizing the staging of a launch vehicle, usually a reference mission with a fixed payload mass is used to determine the specific launch cost (or a surrogate thereof, e.g. total mass or dry ...mass). While this approach neglects suboptimal loading, it delivers sufficiently good results for the evaluation of an individual launcher if the design mission is well known. However, this approach does not capture the full range of payloads that a launch vehicle is expected to launch during its operational lifetime. In order to estimate the cost and subsequently optimize the staging of such launch vehicle families, a full launch scenario has to be considered. The cost of an individual launch vehicle loses importance and the deciding factor is the total cost associated with launching the specified scenario. However, estimates of the future market inevitably include large uncertainties. These uncertainties and their impact are ideally considered and quantified when assessing the specific recurring cost of a single launch vehicle. The consideration of a whole launch market scenario is especially relevant when evaluating a family of launch vehicles, an option currently being discussed for future European launchers. In this case, the distribution of the payloads onto the different members of the launch vehicle family has to be optimized in order to reach the lowest possible cost. Within this manuscript, a method that allows the determination of the recurring cost of such a launcher family based on a launch market scenario including uncertainties is proposed. Based on the launch numbers derived from the combinatorial optimization, parametric cost models for recurring and non-recurring cost are adapted and applied to three possible future launch vehicle families.
•Novel launch vehicle family cost assessment method based on market scenarios.•Efficient payload assignment minimizes recurring costs.•Future market uncertainties considered using Monte Carlo method.•Methodology tested on three conceptual launch vehicle families.
Value Engineering (VE) is a process where building materials, systems or design strategies are substituted to reduce capital costs without negatively impacting functionality. This research examines ...how Value Engineering can be adapted to also integrate the reduction of embodied carbon. A Carbon Value Engineering (CO2VE) framework is proposed to determine both capital cost and embodied carbon. The framework uses Pareto Principles to identify the primary contributors to these metrics, proposes alternative design strategies and uses Marginal Abatement Cost Curves (MACC) to visualise direct and indirect impacts of the changes. The framework is tested on an 18-storey building in Sydney. Results show that embodied carbon makes up 27–58% of the building's total lifecycle carbon emissions, depending on the future energy mix. The most significant contributor to embodied carbon and capital cost is the structural system. Alternative structural systems are evaluated with a post-tensioned concrete structure demonstrating an 8% reduction in embodied carbon and a 10% capital cost saving. A whole timber structure reduces embodied carbon by 13%–26% and cost by 5%. Embodied carbon savings are found to be comparable to conventional strategies to reduce operating carbon emissions such as the use of a high-performance building façade over the building's life.
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•A framework is proposed to evaluate and reduce embodied carbon and capital cost.•Embodied carbon makes up between 27 and 58% of lifecycle carbon emissions.•A post-tensioned concrete structure reduced embodied carbon by 8% and cost by 10%.•A whole timber structure reduced embodied carbon by 13–26% and cost by 5%.
Maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) is the most significant cost driver over a complex engineering asset lifecycle. Therefore, high-value manufacturers are required to plan MRO occurrences to ...optimize the overhaul cost while achieving the desired performance. This trade-off imposes a shift towards a proactive maintenance strategy. However, creating a long-term proactive maintenance plan is challenging due to uncertainties in the performance of the asset and its critical components. Hence, this paper presents a robust design framework for the lifecycle cost estimation process by integrating reliability life data analysis. The level of data availability across the lifecycle is considered. The framework is proposed based on a literature review and the Delphi method. This study highlights that the level of robustness in the lifecycle cost estimates can be achieved by continuous feedback to the design phase and to the body of knowledge over the asset lifecycle. Moreover, this study suggests that the optimization model for the trade-off between cost and reliability should fulfil safety and environmental sustainability requirements when providing a cost-effective reliability solution.
•We compare additive manufacturing to regular production in a component design setting.•Break-even characteristics of printed parts are obtained via lifecycle cost analysis.•The significant ...logistical benefits that printing offers are investigated in detail.•Printing investments can be offset by reduced lead times and by performance benefits.
We consider an original equipment manufacturer that can either design a system component that is produced with traditional technology, or design an alternative component that is produced with additive manufacturing (AM). Designing either component requires a technology specific one-time investment and the components have different characteristics, notably in terms of production leadtime, production costs and component reliability. We support the design decision with a model that is based on evaluating the lifecycle costs of both components, covering design costs, maintenance and downtime costs, and performance benefits. We derive analytic properties of the required reliability and costs of the AM component such that its total lifecycle costs break even with that of its regular counterpart. Through our analysis, a numerical experiment and cases from two different companies, we find that component reliability and production costs are crucial to the success of AM components, while AM component design costs can be overcome to a certain degree by generating performance benefits or by using the short AM production leadtime to lower the after-sales logistics costs.
This research purpose is to offer insights to property owners and developers whose focus tends to be solely on the initial costs of green buildings, and aligning with the requirements set forth by ...Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Regulation No. 21 of 2022, effective from 2022, which mandates green buildings to obtain Building Structure Approval (PBG) and Functional Worthiness Certificate (SLF). Drawing from the 2013-2018 Green Building Council Indonesia (GBCI) report, which indicates a mere 2% certification rate for buildings exceeding 12 floors, this study seizes the opportunity to delve into how green building considerations influence financial decisions. Surveying 102 experienced respondents in green building practices, this research employs green building factor analysis, value engineering, life cycle cost analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)-PLS to scrutinize the factors influencing cost performance in green buildings. The findings spotlight 10 critical green building factors pivotal for securing certification, alongside unveiling correlations between initial costs, operational costs, and life cycle costs. Anticipated outcomes encompass facilitating compliance with Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Regulation No. 21 of 2021, and nurturing the development of green buildings in Indonesia. Implications span regulatory compliance, informed financial strategies, green building advancement, and knowledge dissemination. This study aims to simplify comprehension of the financial ramifications of green buildings, furnishing practical guidance for developers in navigating the intricacies of cost-sustainability equilibrium.
Considering the abundant wind and solar energy resources on waters, this paper integrates wind assistant propulsion and photovoltaic technology with ship electric power system as ...sail-photovoltaic-hybrid power system (sail-PV-HPS). When properly designed, sail-PV-HPS can present environmental and economic benefits compared with conventional sail-diesel power system. However, the optimal design of sail-PV-HPS is a complex task due to environmental uncertainties. In order to fill such gap, this paper proposes a probabilistic optimization method to determine the size parameters of sail-PV-HPS, pursing minimum GHG emission and lifecycle cost. Two pairs of joint distributions of wind speed and wind direction as well as solar irradiance and ambient temperature are established based on coupla function considering the interconnection and seasonal characteristics of the meteorology variables. The performance of the proposed approach is assessed by the retrofit of the power system of an unmanned ocean surveillance trimaran sailing in the Yellow Sea area. A deterministic optimization and a quasi-probabilistic optimization are performed to highlight the effect and importance of taking the uncertainties and their correlation into consideration. Results show that the sail-PV-HPS designed by the proposed probabilistic method outperforms the sail-PV-HPS given by the deterministic optimization and a quasi-probabilistic optimization, as well as, the original power system of the trimaran in terms of GHG emission and lifecycle cost.
•Probabilistic optimization is proposed perusing minimum GHG emissions and life cycle cost for hybrid power systems.•Uncertainties in wind direction, wind speed, solar irradiance and ambient temperature are considered simultaneously.•Joint distributions are established with copula function to describe interconnection between the meteorology variables.
Electrification of public transport is inspired by the increasing concern about greenhouse gas emissions. Studies in this realm were conducted to smooth the sustainable transport mode transition, ...whereas very little attention has been dedicated to modeling the effect of battery degradation process on fleet operation. To fill the research gap, a long-term electric fleet management framework is developed, with fully considering the practical battery capacity loss within charge and discharge cycling. As the battery aging rate is highly dependent on the state of battery charge, we propose to constrain state of battery charge within a predefined range and quantify its cost-effective feature through lifecycle cost analysis. We employ 6 groups of the selected ranges to valid the model and conduct a cost-benefit analysis through comparing their corresponding lifecycle costs. It shows that the battery lifespan can be extended by up to 3 years and the lifecycle cost of electric bus fleet can reduce 24.7% through keeping the state of battery charge within a low and narrow range. A number of managerial insights stemmed from the numerical cases were fully analyzed. The framework and results of this study were expected to serve as a reference for transit operators to make sustainable management strategy for the next generation of public transport.
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