This paper presents an approach to the assessment of the Mexican energy system's evolution under the climate and energy objectives set by the National Climate Change Strategy using an energy optimization model. Some strategic indicators have been chosen to analyze the performance of three integration elements: sustainability, efficiency, and energy security. Two scenarios have been defined in the medium and long-term: the business as usual scenario, with no energy or climate targets, and the National Climate Change Strategy scenario, where clean energy technologies and CO2 emissions objectives are considered. The aim of this work is the analysis of some of those strategic indicators' evolution using the EUROfusion Times Model. Results show that reaching the strategy targets leads to improvements in the integration elements in the medium and long term. Besides, meeting the CO2 emission limits is achievable in terms of technologies and resources availability but at a high cost, while clean technologies targets are met with no extra costs even in the business as usual scenario.

Over the last decades, combating climate change has been an important concern for policy makers. As a result, many policies have been designed towards this direction. Being electricity generation the focus of climate change mitigation policies, important changes are expected in this sector over the next few years as a result of the implementation of such policies. However, electricity production also generates other impacts on the water, energy and land (WEL) nexus that must be further investigated. To shed some light to this issue, this paper presents and discusses the potential impacts on the water-energy-land nexus resulting from the decarbonisation of the Spanish electricity system impacts under two different long-term scenarios. Using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, a set of environmental impacts relevant for the nexus have been analysed for the current and future electricity generation technologies in Spain. Additionally, through the use of an optimization energy model-Times-Spain-the evolution of the electricity technologies in Spain until 2030, under two different scenarios and targets has been assessed. Taking into consideration such scenarios, the global warming, acidification, eutrophication, ecotoxicity, water consumption, resource depletion and land use impacts have been estimated. Results show that, over time, together with the decrease of greenhouse gas emission, acidification and eutrophication tend to decrease in both scenarios. On the contrary, ecotoxicity and resource use impacts tend to increase.

Fusion is one of the technologies that may contribute to a future, low carbon, global energy supply system. In this article we investigate the role that it may play under different scenarios. The global energy model ETM (originally EFDA TIMES Model) has been used to analyse the participation of fusion technologies in the global electricity system in the long term. Results show that fusion technologies penetration is higher in scenarios with stricter CO2 emissions reduction targets. In addition, investment costs and discount rates of fusion technologies are key factors for fusion implementation. Finally, the main competitors for fusion in future are Carbon Capture and Storage and fission technologies. (c) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Global energy system in the model Cabal H. (1),, Lechón Y. (1), Gracceva F.( 2), Biberacher M. ( 3), Ward D. (4), Bustreo C. (5), Dongiovanni D.(6), Grohnheit P.E. (7) (1) CIEMAT, Research Centre on Energy, Environment and Technology, Av.Computense, 40. 28040 Madrid, Spain (2) ENEA, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Lungotevere Thaon di Revel, 76 00196 Rome, Italy (3) RSA, Research Studios Austria, Leopoldskronstraße 30 A 5020 Salzburg, Austria (4) CCFE, Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3DB United Kingdom (5) Consorzio RFX, Corso Stati Uniti, 4 – 35127 Padova, Italy (6) ENEA, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Via Enrico Fermi, 45 00044 Frascati, Roma, Italy (7) DTU Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 426 DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby. Denmark https://www.euro-fusion.org/collaborators/socio-economics/ • Fusion may play a relevant role in the future global electricity system

This paper provides a method to identify drivers, barriers and synergies (DBS) related to the deployment of a CO2 pipeline network. The method was demonstrated for the West Mediterranean region (WMR) (i.e. Spain, Portugal and Morocco). The method comprises a literature review, analysis of embedded pipeline trajectories, interviews with experts, and workshops with stakeholders. Subsequently, the collected information was used to identify route specific DBS in several CO2 pipeline network deployment scenarios that were modeled for the WMR. Most identified DBS apply to CO2 pipeline transport in general. The barriers (e.g. technical knowledge gaps, outstanding legislative issues, lack of financial incentive) can in principle be tackled to make the design, construction and operation of a CO2 pipeline network possible, but could sometimes lead to somewhat higher costs. Furthermore, there are also facilitating processes (e.g. experience with CO2 pipeline transport for EOR). Cost benefits due to pipeline oversizing were identified as a route specific driver, whereas crossings of mountains, water and nature areas are route specific barriers. Installing CO2 pipelines along natural gas pipelines could be either a route specific synergy or barrier, depending on site conditions. Finally, several key measures were proposed to enable CO2 pipeline networks in the future. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In this work, socioeconomic and environmental impacts associated to energy technologies in the current and future Spanish Energy System have been estimated. This information has provided the base from which to conduct two kinds of analyses. First, an Ex post analysis of renewable policies in Spain, where the net impact on social welfare associated to the progressive introduction of those energies in the energy system has been assessed using a partial cost-benefit analysis. Then, a prospective analysis of the Spanish energy system where the optimum energy mix, which leads to the largest social welfare under different energy scenarios, taking into account a medium-long term time horizon (2035), has been estimated using the national energy optimization model TIMES-Spain. The results of the Ex post analysis of the period 2005–2012 show an increase on social welfare due to the introduction of renewable energies. Nevertheless, when assessing the total expenditure of renewables support policies, the results show this support exceeds the economic value of the socioeconomic and environmental externalities calculated in this work. The prospective analysis results for the period 2010–2035 definitely recommend a support for renewable electricity generation technologies and the redesigning of renewables support policies to better reflect their external benefits with respect to the fossil alternatives.

During the past decade, the Spanish cement production industry has experienced constant technological updates. Nevertheless, meeting current and future environmental policy goals requires extra efforts. The Spanish case is significant because cement production went down dramatically due to the last economic crisis. This brought an important, but temporary, reduction of CO2 emissions. Therefore, there is an interesting opportunity for cement producers and policymakers to adjust the long-term targets. This work discusses the evolution of the cement industry in Spain from a realistic point of view using recent cement demand projections and the TIMES-Spain energy optimisation model. Several environmental-friendly options were implemented in TIMES-Spain following a literature review. These measures, aimed at contributing to the decrease of emissions to meet the established policy goals, include energy efficiency improvements, substitution scenarios (both for fuel and materials) and CO2 capture (post-combustion and oxyfuel). From a policy approach, the deployment of the EU ETS Directive entails that CO2 emissions from cement production will decrease by 8 Mt per year from 2030 with respect to the case without Directive. In a more technology-specific analysis, a remarkable decrease of 2-2.4 Mt CO2 was obtained in the material substitution scenario beyond 2030. Additionally, taking into account current projections for cement demand. CO2 capture technology does not emerge as a feasible option. Only if cement demand grew back to the pre-crisis level by 2050 and the CO2 emission allowances remained fixed would the CO2 capture via post-combustion start to be a reasonable alternative. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Even though significant NO x and SO2 emissions reductions have been observed in Spain during last decade, there is a strong commitment to keep reducing the levels of pollution in order to improve air quality standards. This work has been carried out to ease the lack of National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD) assessments at country level. The Spanish case has been used as illustrative of the European Union. The evolution of NO x and SO2 emissions has been analysed in depth using the TIMES-Spain energy optimisation model. The work has been structured into three parts. First, the implementation of the NECD and the consequences both on the evolution of NO x and SO2 emissions, and the electricity production mix; second, taxation on these pollutants has been modelled and discussed; and finally, the proposed “2013 EU Clean Air Package” ceilings to update NECD have been assessed. Results showed that meeting NECD targets would involve a high contribution of renewable sources to the electricity system, mainly wind and solar. In addition, NO x and SO2 taxation has been assessed. Results showed that taxes on pollutants led to lower emissions than using NECD. Hence, current ceilings are not strict enough to internalise all the environmental damages associated to those pollutants. In consequence, the suitability of the NECD has been discussed by means of the new ceilings included in the EU Clean Air Policy Package. Results showed that proposed reductions are insufficient to compensate the environmental damages especially in the short term.

This study tries to find out the hotspots of the Spanish cement sector in 2010 by the life cycle assessment (LCA) and evaluates some improvement scenarios where best available technologies and substitution measures are taken into consideration. The document presents an environmental LCA of the cement production using the 2011 International Reference Life Cycle Data System method recommended by the European Commission. Attending to the clinker production by stage, fossil fuel combustion is the most important source in terms of impacts. Besides, limestone’s calcination is crucial attending to the climate change. Electricity consumption is also relevant both in human toxicity with cancer effects and freshwater eutrophication (FE). Accordingly, solutions deployed lead to reductions in different impact categories. Fossil fuel substitution scenario achieves to reduce 33 and 37 % photochemical ozone formation and acidification (A), while material substitution scenario leads to reduce 10–13 % each impact category. On the other hand, fossil fuel substitution scenario entails an increase of 10 % in FE. Considering the ideal case of applying all these improvements together, reductions go from 15 % in FE to 49 % in A, respectively. To face the problems derived from fossil fuel combustion, a fuel shift is needed to reach less contaminant options such as biomass and bio-waste. Material substitution is another good solution for the industry, but it requires a change in the demand and further research to ensure the properties of cement. Authors recommend taking into consideration the collateral increase of the FE due to the phosphates increase coming from the alternative fuels combustion.

This paper presents results of potential CCS infrastructures in the West Mediterranean region including trajectories for CO2 pipelines. The preliminary results are generated with a combination of geographical (GIS) and partial equilibrium optimization modelling (MARKAL/TIMES-COMET). Furthermore, as a result of active stakeholder involvement in the research project, the CCS infrastructures were critically reviewed and obtained insights were used to improve the models and their input parameters. Stakeholders’ feedback regarding difficulty in crossing hard rock terrains and the reasonability of trying to replicate the existing natural gas network, had a large impact on the resulting CCS infrastructure.

This paper briefly illustrates a method to represent national energy systems and the geographical details of CCS infrastructures in the same technical-economic model. In the MARKAL-TIMES modeling framework a model of Morocco, Portugal and Spain with both spatial and temporal details has been implemented. As a function of assumptions on the development to 2050 of mitigation levels, economic growth and CO2 capture-transport storage characteristics, dozens of scenarios were prepared with the TIMES-COMET model. A few results on optimal levels of CCS contribution to mitigation compared to other energy system options are presented. The results also indicate the least cost lay out of the main capture, transport and storage infrastructures. It is concluded that the availability of CCS after 2020 will reduce the cost of mitigation in the Iberian Peninsula as soon as the EU GHG emissions reduction targets become more stringent than decided so far.

Although cement production is a very energy-intensive industry which releases huge amounts of pollutants to the environment, there is a lack of environmental studies focused on applying CO2 capture technologies to mitigate global warming in this industry. Furthermore, other environmental and human health impacts are omitted or underestimated. This paper carries out a detailed Life Cycle Assessment of the Spanish cement production in order to analyse the effect of applying post-combustion CO2 capture technology using monoethanolamine as absorbent. Moreover, the work discusses the pros and cons of CO2 capture within the cement manufacture from an environmental point of view. On the basis of the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) 2011 midpoint method, results show improvements in global warming, ozone depletion and abiotic depletion potentials but acidification, photochemical ozone formation, eutrophication, human toxicities, ionising radiation, particulate matter, ecotoxicity, and land use potentials are increased by several times. Besides, the paper shows the decisive contribution of the cogeneration plant required to produce heat. It is necessary to carry out more research concerning how to face the energy penalty. Authors strongly recommend exploring natural gas or biomass CHP plants implementation as well as synergies between cement facilities and power plants.

This work presents the EFDA Times model (ETM), developed within the European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA). ETM is an optimization global energy model which aims at providing the optimum energy system composition in terms of social wealth and sustainability including fusion as an alternative technology in the long term. Two framework scenarios are defined: a Base case scenario with no limits to CO2 emissions, and a 450ppm scenario with a limit of 450ppm in CO(2-)eq concentrations set by 2100. Previous results showed that in the Base case scenario, with no measures for CO2 emission reductions, fusion does not enter the energy system. However, when CO2 emission restrictions are imposed, the global energy system composition changes completely. In a 450ppm scenario, coal technologies disappear in a few decades, being mainly replaced by nuclear fission technologies which experience a great increase when constrained only by Uranium resources exhaustion. Fission technologies are then replaced by the fusion power plants that start in 2070, with a significant contribution to the global electricity production by 2100. To conclude the work, a sensitivity analysis will be presented on some parameters that may affect the possible role of fusion in the future global energy system.

Purpose - Two main activities of the EC FP7 Risk of Energy Availability: Common Corridors for Europe Supply Security (REACCESS) project applied a systematic approach to collect the main characteristics of energy supply corridors starting from mining activities in exporting regions up to the import infrastructures and capacities of EU27+ countries. The aim of the present paper is to summarise identified information on import potentials and the possible corridors for the EU27+ energy supply of the future. This information is used as new starting point for the energy system modelling in the REACCESS project.Design/methodology/approach - Detailed information on existing, planned or potential developments derived from literature reviews and expert surveys, as well as from our own calculations, was compiled in a consistent database. By using suitable geographic information system (GIS) tools, all the identified energy supply routes were represented graphically and analysed with reference to their spatial characteristics.Findings - The information collected was used to generate a comprehensive database of resources, production capacities and import routes. Together with further detailed information on technological and economic parameters (not shown in this paper), this database provides new complete and consistent input for the modelling of import corridors and associated risks regarding the energy systems in Europe.Originality/value - The originality of the paper is the synthesis of a huge volume of information provided in the literature and own additional calculations in a consistent way. The resulting database provides the framework for the integration of security of supply aspects into energy scenario modelling, which is an important modelling challenge and one of the main tasks of REACCESS. The study considers oil, gas, coal and nuclear fuel as well as renewable imports of solar electricity and biomass, and also hydrogen as a possible new energy carrier.

COMET–Integrated infrastructure for CO2 transport and storage in the west Mediterranean–is a join research Project co-financed by the European Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), which started on January 2010. Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) is a CO2 abatement option that can contribute substantially to the ambitious targets needed for climate stabilization. The significant role foreseen for CCS is based on several conditions, like the availability of a CO2 transport infrastructure or construction of such an infrastructure within the near future. The need to have a suitable transport infrastructure, its implications over time and its related costs have only more recently attracting the attention and getting priority in the R&D agenda of the European Countries. This is partly because research on CO2 transport and storage needs to be realized at the local-regional level, unlike the technological research on CO2 capture which is not country dependent. In this context, COMET focuses on assessing CO2 transport and storage in a geographical area that until now has received little attention: The West Mediterranean area, specifically, the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco.

In this study, an Information-Choice Questionnaire (ICQ) was used to find out how a representative sample of the Dutch public (n=971) would evaluate and choose between seven mitigation options after having been thoroughly informed. The results suggest that due to the comparison with other mitigation options, people are less positive about CCS options. Still, only few respondents firmly reject the CCS options. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions impacts of the use of different alternative biofuels in passenger vehicles in Spain in order to meet EU biofuel goals. Different crop production alternatives are analysed, including the possible import of some raw materials. Availability of land for national production of the raw materials is analysed and indirect land use changes and associated GHG emissions are quantified.There are important differences in GHG emissions of biofuels depending on the raw material used and whether this is domestically produced or imported. Ethanol production using imported cereals and FAME production using domestic rapeseed have the highest GHG emissions per kilometre driven. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) production from sunflower has shown the lowest emissions. When taking into account the results of GHG emissions savings per hectare, these findings are somehow reversed. Production of ethanol and around 12% of FAME can be done domestically. The rest will need to be imported and will cause indirect land use change (ILUC). Therefore, ethanol production will not displace any land, whereas FAME production will displace some amounts of land. Calculated ILUC factors are 29%-34%. The additional GHG emissions due to these indirect land use changes are significant (67%-344% of life cycle GHG emissions).Standalone, the EU biofuel targets can have important benefits for Spain in terms of global warming emissions avoided. However, when considering the impact of land use change effects, these benefits are significantly reduced and can even be negative. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The objectives of the REACCESS (Risk of Energy Availability: Common Corridors for Europe Supply Security, EC-FP7 Project, Theme: ENERGY-2007-9. 1-01: Energy Security of Supply) work package 2 (Identification and detailed description of ’captive’ energy import corridors and framework) and work package 3 (Identification and detailed description of ‘open sea’ energy import corridors and framework) were the identification and characterisation of relevant resources, production and transportation infrastructures of the corridors that supply energy to EU27+. The two work packages applied a systematic approach to collect the main characteristics of the whole energy chain of each commodity, starting from mining activities in exporting regions up the input to EU27+ countries. This Deliverable documents the methodologies, presents the energy corridors that have been identified and reports the main figures for the energy commodities analysed, mainly in the context of the 2005 base year.