Civil Engineering/Environmental Health and Engineering Seminar: Sarah Jordaan

Description

The Department of Civil Engineering and the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering are pleased to welcome Dr. Sarah Jordaan, an assistant professor of Energy, Resources and Environment and of Canadian Studies at the School for Advanced International Studies, for a seminar titled "The Climate Mitigation Opportunity Behind Global Power Transmission and Distribution."

Abstract:

Inefficient transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure -- caused, for example, by losses from technical issues, pilferage, poor planning, and management -- contributes to compensatory power generation and therefore to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Yet, mitigation efforts are concentrated on electricity generation and heat production that together contribute to a quarter of global GHG emissions. Furthermore, assessments of life cycle power sector emissions tend to focus on estimates of electricity generated rather than delivered. As a result, the mitigation potential of reducing T&D losses is often overlooked and compensatory emissions remain poorly characterized. We combine life cycle assessments of power generation with uncertainty analysis to bound potential emissions from compensatory generation from technical and non-technical losses in 141 countries. Results will be presented that describe potential improvements in T&D infrastructure and the resulting emissions reductions. By addressing such losses, not only are GHG emissions reduced but low carbon investments are protected from grid inefficiencies.