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Electricity infrastructures are crucial for economic prosperity and underpin fundamental energy services. This article provides global datasets on installed power plant capacities, transmission and distribution grid lengths as well as transformer capacities. A country-level dataset on installed electricity generation capacities during 1980 to 2017, comprising 14 types of power plants and technologies, is obtained by combining data from three different online databases. Transmission grid lengths are derived from georeferenced data available from OpenStreetMap, augmented with data from national and international statistics. Data gaps are filled and historical developments estimated by applying a linear regression model. Statistical data on distribution grids lengths are collected for 31 countries that make up almost 50% of the global electricity consumption. Estimates for distribution grid lengths in the remaining countries are again obtained through linear regression. Data on installed transformer capacities are sparsely available from market intelligence reports and specialist journals. For most countries, they are estimated from typical transformer-to-generator ratios, i.e. based on power plant capacities. Global generation capacity expansion since 1980 was dominated by coal-fired (mainly China and India) and gas-fired plants (mainly industrialized countries and Middle East). Solar and wind power accounted for the second and third largest capacity additions since 2010 (after coal-fired plants). The total length of transmission circuits worldwide is estimated at 4.7 million kilometres, and the length of distribution grids between 88 and 104 million km. China accounts for 41% of the expansion of global transmission grids, and 32% of the expansion of distribution grids since 1980. In 2017, China's electricity grids were approximately as large as the grids of all western industrialized countries combined. The globally installed capacity of transformers is estimated between 36 and 45 Teravolt-Ampere, with transmission and distribution transformers accounting for above 40% each, and generator step-up transformers for the rest. The data provided in this article are used for estimating global material stocks in electricity infrastructures in the related research paper [1] and can be used in energy system models, for econometric analyses or development indices on country level and many more purposes.

To date the concept of the bioeconomy—an economy based primarily on biogenic instead of fossil resources—has largely been associated with visions of “green growth” and the advancement of biotechnology and has been framed from within an industrial perspective. However, there is no consensus as to what a bioeconomy should effectively look like, and what type of society it would sustain. In this paper, we identify different types of narratives constructed around this concept and carve out the techno-political implications they convey. We map these narratives on a two-dimensional option space, which allows for a rough classification of narratives and their related imaginaries into four paradigmatic quadrants. We draw the narratives from three different sources: (i) policy documents of national and supra-national authorities; (ii) stakeholder interviews; and (iii) scenarios built in a biophysical modelling exercise. Our analysis shows that there is a considerable gap between official policy papers and visions supported by stakeholders. At least in the case of Austria there is also a gap between the official strategies and the option space identified through biophysical modelling. These gaps testify to the highly political nature of the concept of the bioeconomy and the diverging visions of society arising from it.

Abstract The concept of energy services is used in different contexts and scientific fields mainly to emphasize that it is the services provided by energy rather than energy carriers that people demand and that generate well-being. While the value of the concept is widely acknowledged, there are remarkable differences in how energy services are conceptualized. This article proposes the ‘Energy Service Cascade’ (ESC) as a conceptual framework aimed at clarifying and bridging different approaches. The ESC is inspired by Haines-Young’s and Potschin’s (2011) ‘Ecosystem Service Cascade’, which distinguishes: a) structures, b) functions, c) services, d) benefits and e) values. When used to systematize the debates around energy services, we argue that these differentiations reflect a) energy conversion chains comprising natural structures, human-made capital and labor; b) physical functions performed by energy chains; c) services humans demand to foster well-being; d) the actual contributions to human well-being (health, life satisfaction, …); e) individual preferences and attitudes that create willingness to pay, encourage business models, etc. ‘Values’ influence how services and benefits are perceived and affect ‘structures’ through various mechanisms (investment decisions, environmental and economic policy, …). To showcase the usefulness of the ESC as conceptual framework, we provide a review of literature to reveal the differing scopes of four main contexts in which energy services are being studied. We call them ‘energy chain context’, ‘energy demand context’, ‘well-being context’ and ‘entrepreneurial context’. Given the diversity of how energy services are interpreted and the various scopes and research aims, a full harmonization of concepts seems out of reach. Nevertheless, a more unified understanding of what is considered as ‘service’ and differentiation from ‘functions’ and ‘benefits’, as provided by the ESC, could be a first step towards more systematic terminology and may support interaction between the different discourses.

Abstract Sustainable resource use calls for substantial changes to existing infrastructures, which lock societies into current resource use patterns. Urban mobility is a case in point: existing material stocks of infrastructure and vehicles require large amounts of materials and energy for maintenance and operation in order to provide mobility services, thereby causing considerable emissions. Understanding the stock-flow-service nexus of urban mobility is crucial for achieving progress towards absolute reductions of resource use and emissions. In this article, we investigate personal mobility in an urban context - Vienna. We use stock-driven material and energy flow analysis to quantify mobility stocks and flows for four different modes of mobility: pedestrian, bicycle, public transport and motorized individual traffic (MIT). We quantify material flows for maintenance, expansion, as well as primary energy use and emissions linked to personal mobility within city territory and compare a number of stock-flow-service indicators. Public transport was found to deliver most mobility services (38%), when services were measured as trips. Pedestrian mobility showed the lowest stock intensity of services while using less energy and generating lower emissions per service than any other mobility mode. Trips crossing the city border showed high shares of motorized individual traffic (62–63%). Traffic surfaces dominated material requirements of mobility and are mainly (78%) used by MIT. We conclude that considering stock-flow-service relations can support prioritizing future urban mobility planning, highlight the importance of infrastructure-related measures in doing so and the need for better monitoring especially of mobility service indicators.

Abstract Electricity infrastructures are key for the provision of crucial energy services and economic prosperity. We investigate the current state and historical development of the global power sector from a “stock-flow-service nexus” (SFS-nexus) perspective. The SFS-nexus emphasizes the interrelations and dependencies between social metabolism (i.e. stocks and flows of biophysical resources), provision of services and societal well-being. Focussing on the most relevant stocks and flows, we quantify the main bulk materials (iron/steel, concrete, copper and aluminium) in power plants, grids and transformers, and fuel use of thermal power plants from 1980 to 2017. We assess the relevance of stocks, flows and related greenhouse gas emissions in the overall metabolism of countries and groupings by politico-economic and geographic criteria. Finally, we empirically explore the relations between material stocks and qualitative indicators for service quality and societal well-being. Globally, concrete stocks (9,000 million tons (Mt) in 2017) are dominated by hydropower, whereas aluminium and copper stocks (181 and 161 Mt, respectively) are mostly comprised in conductors in grids (>80%). 50% of the iron/steel stocks (total: 840 Mt) are incorporated in power plants. Annualized embodied emissions of bulk materials account for less than 1% of fuel combustion emissions from power plants. Material intensities and power generation mixes are highly diverse amongst technologies and countries, respectively. Still, electricity supply quality and well-being indicators on country level are clearly correlated with per-capita metal stocks in electricity infrastructures. We thus showcase how material stock inventories can provide insight into the material basis of societies’ well-being.

Abstract The core issues of the Austrian energy policy agenda include reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. Within this study, the costs of GHG mitigation and fossil fuel replacement (abatement costs) of established and upcoming bioenergy technologies for heat, electricity and transport fuel production are assessed. Sensitivity analyses and projections up to 2030 illustrate the effect of dynamic parameters on specific abatement costs. The results show that the abatement costs of wood-based heat generation technologies substituting oil-fired boilers and gas-fired heating plants, respectively, are in the range of −45 € per ton CO2-equivalent (€/t CO2-eq.) and −11 € per MW h higher heating value (€/MW hHHV) to 93 €/t CO2-eq. and 24 €/MW hHHV. Heating systems around 50 kW show the lowest abatement costs. For combined heat and power (CHP) plants, two different cases with regard to heat utilization are assumed. In an optimal mode (100% of generated heat displaces fossil fuel-based heat production), abatement costs of wood-based technologies, substituting electricity from modern combined cycle gas turbines, range from 5 €/t CO2-eq. and 1 €/MW hHHV to 201 €/t CO2-eq. and 38 €/MW hHHV. Representative values of typical CHP plants with a capacity of 1 MWel and more are in the magnitude of 50 €/t CO2-eq. and 10 €/MW hHHV. Under less favorable conditions (3000 heat full load hours per year), abatement costs of typical plants are around 100 €/t CO2-eq. and 17 €/MW hHHV higher. The costs of GHG mitigation and fossil fuel saving with established transport fuels (biodiesel and ethanol) range from 71 €/t CO2-eq. and 8 €/MW hHHV to 200 €/t CO2-eq. and 82 €/MW hHHV. For liquid fuels from lignocellulosis, abatement costs are estimated 147 €/t CO2-eq. and 38 €/MW hHHV to 240 €/t CO2-eq. and 59 €/MW hHHV. The abatement costs of synthetic natural gas are found to be significantly lower: 75 €/t CO2-eq. and 14 €/MW hHHV to 128 €/t CO2-eq. and 23 €/MW hHHV. The results suggest that heat generation and – given favorable conditions – CHP generation are the most cost-efficient options for reducing GHG emissions and fossil fuel dependence in Austria. A core advantage of CHP is higher quantities of abatement per unit of biomass used. In contrast, this is found to be the main drawback of synthetic transport fuels from wood.

Abstract In this study, long-term perspectives for the Austrian bioenergy sector are analyzed. The focus is on the achievable contribution of biomass to the heat, electricity and transport fuel supply as well as to the total primary energy supply under different framework conditions. Also, the achievable GHG mitigation and the costs related to GHG reduction are assessed. The analyses are based on scenarios which are compiled with the simulation model Green-XBio-Austria. Within this model a myopic optimization of the bioenergy sector with regard to energy generation costs up to 2050 in eleven scenarios is carried out. The scenarios differ in the following aspects: the projections for fuel price development and for the energy demand as well as bioenergy policy measures assumed. The major conclusions are: With respect to greenhouse gas emission reduction and economic efficiency, the simulations make clear that bioenergy policies should focus on the promotion of heat an – to some extent – combined heat and power generation. A focus on liquid biofuels for transport has adverse effects on the development of the bioenergy sector due to increased competition for limited biomass resources. For significantly increasing the share of biomass in the Austrian energy supply, it is crucial to both subsidize bioenergy and reduce the overall energy consumption. In the case of highly increasing fossil fuel prices, the economics of bioenergy systems will improve significantly.