Nuclear energy in the era of climate resilience: advancing long-term scenarios with the world-times model

Authors

  • Fankhauser Doyle Edenhofer KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgia Author
  • Lehtveer Loulou Parikh KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgia Author
  • Sen Zhu Wang Yu KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgia Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35335/eeqhzn35

Keywords:

Climate Resilience, Energy Transition, Long-Term Scenarios, Nuclear Energy, World-TIMES Model

Abstract

Sustainable energy routes that improve climate resilience are needed because climate change affects global energy systems. Nuclear energy's low-carbon electricity could mitigate climate change. This study uses the World-TIMES Model to assess its climatic resilience. A mathematical optimization model is used to discover the best energy mix, including nuclear power, to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and meet energy demand and cost limitations. We use a simplified numerical example to demonstrate the concept and assess nuclear energy, renewable sources, and cost-effectiveness trade-offs. Wind and solar electricity are better in the scenario, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change. This conclusion is scenario-specific, and real-world difficulties demand more thorough models. Thus, the study emphasizes regional-specific data, dynamic dynamics, and sensitivity analysis. This work improves our understanding of nuclear energy's potential in climate-resilient energy systems and aids policymakers in developing evidence-based energy strategies. The report also emphasizes the importance of renewable energy sources in reaching climate targets and urges future research to solve real-world difficulties and maximize nuclear energy integration in long-term energy planning

References

Adamantiades, A., & Kessides, I. (2009). Nuclear power for sustainable development: current status and future prospects. Energy Policy, 37(12), 5149–5166.

Agarwal, A., Narain, S., & Sharma, A. (2017). The global commons and environmental justice—climate change. In Environmental Justice (pp. 171–199). Routledge.

Allen, M., Antwi-Agyei, P., Aragon-Durand, F., Babiker, M., Bertoldi, P., Bind, M., Brown, S., Buckeridge, M., Camilloni, I., & Cartwright, A. (2019). Technical Summary: Global warming of 1.5 C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty.

Bhattacharyya, S. C., & Bhattacharyya, S. C. (2011). Integrated analysis of energy systems. Energy Economics: Concepts, Issues, Markets and Governance, 393–416.

Caglar, A. E. (2023). Can nuclear energy technology budgets pave the way for a transition toward low‐carbon economy: insights from the United Kingdom. Sustainable Development, 31(1), 198–210.

Cherp, A., Vinichenko, V., Jewell, J., Brutschin, E., & Sovacool, B. (2018). Integrating techno-economic, socio-technical and political perspectives on national energy transitions: A meta-theoretical framework. Energy Research & Social Science, 37, 175–190.

Cooper, M. (2009). The economics of nuclear reactors: Renaissance or relapse. Institute for Energy and the Environment, Vermont Law School. June, 1998–2008.

Creutzig, F., Agoston, P., Goldschmidt, J. C., Luderer, G., Nemet, G., & Pietzcker, R. C. (2017). The underestimated potential of solar energy to mitigate climate change. Nature Energy, 2(9), 1–9.

Creutzig, F., Goldschmidt, J. C., Lehmann, P., Schmid, E., von Blücher, F., Breyer, C., Fernandez, B., Jakob, M., Knopf, B., & Lohrey, S. (2014). Catching two European birds with one renewable stone: Mitigating climate change and Eurozone crisis by an energy transition. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 38, 1015–1028.

Després, J., Hadjsaid, N., Criqui, P., & Noirot, I. (2015). Modelling the impacts of variable renewable sources on the power sector: Reconsidering the typology of energy modelling tools. Energy, 80, 486–495.

Doyle, J. (2011). Acclimatizing nuclear? Climate change, nuclear power and the reframing of risk in the UK news media. International Communication Gazette, 73(1–2), 107–125.

Edenhofer, O., Pichs-Madruga, R., Sokona, Y., Seyboth, K., Kadner, S., Zwickel, T., Eickemeier, P., Hansen, G., Schlömer, S., & von Stechow, C. (2011). Renewable energy sources and climate change mitigation: Special report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press.

Fankhauser, S., & Jotzo, F. (2018). Economic growth and development with low‐carbon energy. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 9(1), e495.

Gan, L., Eskeland, G. S., & Kolshus, H. H. (2007). Green electricity market development: Lessons from Europe and the US. Energy Policy, 35(1), 144–155.

Goldthau, A. (2014). Rethinking the governance of energy infrastructure: Scale, decentralization and polycentrism. Energy Research & Social Science, 1, 134–140.

Handayani, K., Anugrah, P., Goembira, F., Overland, I., Suryadi, B., & Swandaru, A. (2022). Moving beyond the NDCs: ASEAN pathways to a net-zero emissions power sector in 2050. Applied Energy, 311, 118580.

Harish, V., Anwer, N., & Kumar, A. (2022). Applications, planning and socio-techno-economic analysis of distributed energy systems for rural electrification in India and other countries: A review. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 52, 102032.

Hassan, S. T., Khan, D., Zhu, B., & Batool, B. (2022). Is public service transportation increase environmental contamination in China? The role of nuclear energy consumption and technological change. Energy, 238, 121890.

Hertwich, E. G., Gibon, T., Bouman, E. A., Arvesen, A., Suh, S., Heath, G. A., Bergesen, J. D., Ramirez, A., Vega, M. I., & Shi, L. (2015). Integrated life-cycle assessment of electricity-supply scenarios confirms global environmental benefit of low-carbon technologies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(20), 6277–6282.

Ibrahim, R. L., Ozturk, I., Al-Faryan, M. A. S., & Al-Mulali, U. (2022). Exploring the nexuses of disintegrated energy consumption, structural change, and financial development on environmental sustainability in BRICS: modulating roles of green innovations and regulatory quality. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 53, 102529.

Jang, Y., & Park, E. (2020). Social acceptance of nuclear power plants in Korea: The role of public perceptions following the Fukushima accident. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 128, 109894.

Kang, J.-N., Wei, Y.-M., Liu, L.-C., Han, R., Yu, B.-Y., & Wang, J.-W. (2020). Energy systems for climate change mitigation: A systematic review. Applied Energy, 263, 114602.

Karakosta, C., Pappas, C., Marinakis, V., & Psarras, J. (2013). Renewable energy and nuclear power towards sustainable development: Characteristics and prospects. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 22, 187–197.

Kistner, L., Schubert, F. L., Minke, C., Bensmann, A., & Hanke-Rauschenbach, R. (2021). Techno-economic and environmental comparison of internal combustion engines and solid oxide fuel cells for ship applications. Journal of Power Sources, 508, 230328.

Lehtveer, M., Makowski, M., Hedenus, F., McCollum, D., & Strubegger, M. (2015). Multi-criteria analysis of nuclear power in the global energy system: Assessing trade-offs between simultaneously attainable economic, environmental and social goals. Energy Strategy Reviews, 8, 45–55.

Li, B., & Haneklaus, N. (2022). The potential of India’s net-zero carbon emissions: Analyzing the effect of clean energy, coal, urbanization, and trade openness. Energy Reports, 8, 724–733.

Loulou, R., & Labriet, M. (2008). ETSAP-TIAM: the TIMES integrated assessment model Part I: Model structure. Computational Management Science, 5, 7–40.

Mathew, M. D. (2022). Nuclear energy: A pathway towards mitigation of global warming. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 143, 104080.

Mohamed, A. R., & Lee, K. T. (2006). Energy for sustainable development in Malaysia: Energy policy and alternative energy. Energy Policy, 34(15), 2388–2397.

Naill, R. F., Belanger, S., Klinger, A., & Petersen, E. (1992). An analysis of the cost effectiveness of US energy policies to mitigate global warming. System Dynamics Review, 8(2), 111–128.

Nathaniel, S. P., Alam, M. S., Murshed, M., Mahmood, H., & Ahmad, P. (2021). The roles of nuclear energy, renewable energy, and economic growth in the abatement of carbon dioxide emissions in the G7 countries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(35), 47957–47972.

Nayak, A. K. (n.d.). Nuclear power option for climate resilient future India. Technology, 23, 24.

Panteli, M., & Mancarella, P. (2015). Influence of extreme weather and climate change on the resilience of power systems: Impacts and possible mitigation strategies. Electric Power Systems Research, 127, 259–270.

Parikh, K. (2012). Sustainable development and low carbon growth strategy for India. Energy, 40(1), 31–38.

Pidgeon, N. F., Lorenzoni, I., & Poortinga, W. (2008). Climate change or nuclear power—No thanks! A quantitative study of public perceptions and risk framing in Britain. Global Environmental Change, 18(1), 69–85.

Pina, A., Silva, C., & Ferrão, P. (2011). Modeling hourly electricity dynamics for policy making in long-term scenarios. Energy Policy, 39(9), 4692–4702.

Poumadère, M., Bertoldo, R., & Samadi, J. (2011). Public perceptions and governance of controversial technologies to tackle climate change: nuclear power, carbon capture and storage, wind, and geoengineering. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 2(5), 712–727.

Raihan, A., Muhtasim, D. A., Farhana, S., Pavel, M. I., Faruk, O., Rahman, M., & Mahmood, A. (2022). Nexus between carbon emissions, economic growth, renewable energy use, urbanization, industrialization, technological innovation, and forest area towards achieving environmental sustainability in Bangladesh. Energy and Climate Change, 3, 100080.

Rhodes, C. J. (2019). Only 12 years left to readjust for the 1.5-degree climate change option–Says International Panel on Climate Change report: Current commentary. Science Progress, 102(1), 73–87.

Ringel, M. (2006). Fostering the use of renewable energies in the European Union: the race between feed-in tariffs and green certificates. Renewable Energy, 31(1), 1–17.

Sayed, E. T., Wilberforce, T., Elsaid, K., Rabaia, M. K. H., Abdelkareem, M. A., Chae, K.-J., & Olabi, A. G. (2021). A critical review on environmental impacts of renewable energy systems and mitigation strategies: Wind, hydro, biomass and geothermal. Science of the Total Environment, 766, 144505.

Sen, Z. (2008). Solar energy fundamentals and modeling techniques: atmosphere, environment, climate change and renewable energy. Springer Science & Business Media.

Steward, F. (2012). Transformative innovation policy to meet the challenge of climate change: sociotechnical networks aligned with consumption and end-use as new transition arenas for a low-carbon society or green economy. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 24(4), 331–343.

Sun, C., Zhu, X., & Meng, X. (2016). Post-Fukushima public acceptance on resuming the nuclear power program in China. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 62, 685–694.

Taylor, J., & Shropshire, D. E. (2009). Dynamic complexity study of nuclear reactor and process heat application integration. Idaho National Lab.(INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States).

Usman, M., & Radulescu, M. (2022). Examining the role of nuclear and renewable energy in reducing carbon footprint: does the role of technological innovation really create some difference? Science of The Total Environment, 841, 156662.

Vaillancourt, K, Labriet, M., Loulou, R., & Waaub, J.-P. (2007). The role of nuclear energy in long-term climate scenarios: An analysis with the World-TIMES model. Les Cahiers Du GERAD ISSN, 711, 2440.

Vaillancourt, Kathleen, Labriet, M., Loulou, R., & Waaub, J.-P. (2008). The role of nuclear energy in long-term climate scenarios: An analysis with the World-TIMES model. Energy Policy, 36(7), 2296–2307.

VijayaVenkataRaman, S., Iniyan, S., & Goic, R. (2012). A review of climate change, mitigation and adaptation. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(1), 878–897.

Wang, B., Yu, H., & Wei, Y.-M. (2013). Impact factors of public attitudes towards nuclear power development: a questionnaire survey in China. International Journal of Global Energy Issues, 36(1), 61–79.

Downloads

Published

2023-06-30

How to Cite

Nuclear energy in the era of climate resilience: advancing long-term scenarios with the world-times model. (2023). Vertex, 12(2), 80-88. https://doi.org/10.35335/eeqhzn35

Similar Articles

1-10 of 20

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.