Life cycle assessment at Hydro-Québec

For several years now, Hydro-Québec has been using life cycle assessment (LCA) to assess various products and services.

Hydro-Québec utilise l'analyse du cycle de vie (ACV) depuis plusieurs années pour évaluer divers produits et services.

LCA, also known as ecobalance, measures the environmental impact of a product or service based on its entire life cycle—from the extraction of natural resources to manufacturing, distribution, use and end-of-life (including reuse and recycling if applicable). LCA is one of the most complete and effective methods for conducting the environmental assessment of a product.

Resource extraction, Manufacturing/production, Transportation/distribution, Use/consomption, End-of-life/recycling
Phases considered in an LCA.

For companies, designers and governments, LCA primarily serves to assist decision-making with a view to social responsibility. Governed by ISO 14040 series standards, LCA is a rigorous method consisting of four distinct phases, including the determination and quantification of input and output flows related to the product or activity and the assessment of the potential impacts related to these flows of matter and energy.

Generally, to assess various products and services, the company mandates either the Interuniversity Research Centre for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services (CIRAIG) or a specialized firm to conduct these assessments.

Comparison of electric vehicles and conventional vehicles in the Québec context

At Hydro-Québec’s request, the Interuniversity Research Centre for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services (CIRAIG) undertook a comparative life-cycle assessment of electric vehicles and conventional vehicles in the Québec context.

The goal was to determine the degree to which the use of an electric vehicle powered by electricity generated in Québec can be environmentally beneficial compared to a conventional vehicle.

The potential impacts were assessed based on the following indicators: Human health, Ecosystem quality, Climate change, Depletion of fossil resources and Depletion of mineral resources.

Results

Most of the environmental impacts of electric vehicles are associated to their manufacturing. With conventional vehicles, it is their use that generates the greatest impact. In fact, at the time of purchase, the impacts of electric vehicles are more significant than those of conventional vehicles. However, after accounting for 300,000 km of travel, electric vehicles have 55% to 80% less impacts than conventional vehicles. These values exclude the Depletion of mineral resources indicator, which favors conventional vehicles.

The impacts of the vehicles vary based on a number of factors such as their mass, energy efficiency and use conditions. This study performed an exhaustive evaluation of the influence of these factors.

Overall, the results differ based on use conditions and distance travelled. The longer the distance travelled, the greater the advantage of electric vehicles. Therefore, electric vehicles represent a better environmental choice than conventional vehicles in a Québec context.

Technical reports

Comparing power generation options and electricity mixes

Hydro-Québec mandated the CIRAIG’s International Life Cycle Chair to use life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to study and compare different power generation options, and the electricity mixes* of various Canadian provinces, U.S. states and other countries.

The data on the impact of generating options was collected via a literature review of the LCAs conducted in this field. Over 60 relevant reports or articles, published since 2007, were identified and analyzed. The data gathered was also compared to the data produced by Hydro-Québec.

The data related to electricity mixes came from the ecoinvent database v3.0, which is commonly used to conduct LCAs.

* An electricity mix is the electricity generated by the different types of generating stations that form a network operated over a given territory, and the electricity imported from neighboring territories.

Results

  • Based on the environmental indicators studied, the results for hydropower are among the best, thanks to the option’s minimal use of resources during the generation phase. Conversely, thermal generation using non-renewable sources shows the worst results, due to the extraction, transformation and use of fuels. Moreover, the results of the study conducted for Hydro-Québec are similar, for most of the indicators, to the results found in the documentation published about hydropower.
  • Based on the environmental indicators studied, Québec’s energy mix is among the best.

Technical report

CIRAIG.: Comparing power generation options and electricity mixes [PDF 7.2 Mb], 2014, various pagings 102 - [58] p.

Among the environmental indicators used to compare energy sources in this LCA study, the one on climate change will be updated shortly.

Incandescent and compact fluorescent lightbulbs

Concerned about the potential environmental impacts of the products it promotes and wishing to keep customers wellinformed, Hydro-Québec asked the Interuniversity Research Centre for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services (CIRAIG) to undertake a comparative life cycle assessment of incandescent and compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs).

Results

For households that heat with electricity

The use of energy-efficient CFLs remains the most environmentally sound option at all times, for all the aspects analyzed.

For households that heat with natural gas or oil

  • Outside of heating season, the use of energy-efficient CFLs is the most environmentally sound option.
  • During heating season, incandescent lightbulbs seem to be a better option since they give off heat. However, CFLs remain the best choice for two reasons: the energy savings achieved and, consequently, the potential to use Québec's clean energy to replace energy from polluting sources.

Mercury in CFLs

CFLs pose no significant threat to human health or the environment. The amount of mercury in CFLs is so small (less than 20% of the amount in a watch battery) that waste management accounts for only 1% of the overall environmental impacts in the life cycle.

Technical reports

See also

Interuniversity Research Centre for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services (CIRAIG)

Small-scale distributed electric power generation

Hydro-Québec mandated CIRAIG's International Life Cycle Chair to analyze and compare different small-scale distributed electricity generation options, using LCA methodology.

Five systems were compared: three types of small turbines and two types of photovoltaic solar panels. The electricity generated by these systems was also compared to the electricity supplied by Hydro-Québec's network.

Results

  • Kilowatthours supplied by Hydro-Québec's network outperformed those generated by each of the five distributed electricity generation systems studied, based on indicators for Human health, Climate change, Resources, Aquatic acidification and Aquatic eutrophication. However, results for the Quality of ecosystems indicator were inconclusive.
  • In terms of environmental impact of the five distributed electricity generation systems, the 30 kW wind turbine outperformed the others for indicators for Climate change, Resources, and Aquatic eutrophication. The photovoltaic panels ranked first in the indicator of Human health. The indicators Quality of ecosystems and Aquatic acidification did not demonstrate a clear advantage for either the 30 kW wind turbine or the photovoltaic panels.

Technical reports

See also

Small-scale distributed thermal power generation

Hydro-Québec mandated CIRAIG's International Life Cycle Chair to analyze and compare the environmental profile of different small-scale distributed thermal power generation options, using LCA methodology.

Five distributed thermal power generation systems—two geothermal systems and three solar thermal systems—were compared to a heating system supplied by Hydro-Québec's grid.

Results

For the thermal power needs of an average-sized household:

  • Solar thermal systems offer no environmental advantages over the heating system supplied by Hydro-Québec's grid. As for the glazed solar air collector, although its environmental performance is high, its limited ability to meet the heating needs of an average-sized household make it a less interesting option.
  • The potential environmental performance of geothermal systems is superior to that of the other systems given that geothermal systems can meet over 80% of a household's heating needs.

Technical reports

See also

International Life Cycle Chair