Importance of Swedish Cogeneration Plants for the Domestic Energy System and the North European Power Exchange

This report examines Swedish cogeneration importance for the domestic energy system and\nfor the North European power exchange. Carbon dioxide emissions and generation cost of\nSwedish cogeneration is compared to imported or that by export replaced average electricity\nto and from Sweden. The comparison is for a historic period (2005-2010) where known\nannual electricity exchange data and cogeneration generation by fuel is used to compare\nactual emissions and cost. And a future period (2011-2020) based on the NREAP report,\nwhere projected electricity and cogeneration investments are used to estimate future CO2-\nemissions and generation cost. Also the new Rya NGCC CHP plant is compared to the North\nEuropean marginal electricity generation for the historic period (2005-2010). The comparison\nis based on emissions of CO2, NOx and SOx.\nThe method uses fixed values for emissions factors, generation prices and fuel to energy\nefficiencies based on qualified sources for average values. The comparison is visualised in\nboth diagram and tables.\nThe result implies that the imported electricity has lower CO2-emissions compared to Swedish\ncogeneration. However when removing Norway from the comparison the result is different,\nnow the imported electricity has higher CO2-emissions. The comparison for Swedish\ncogeneration and the by export replaced abroad average electricity is different annually\ndepending on how much electricity Sweden exports to Norway. Removing Norway from the\ncomparison makes Swedish cogeneration better from an emission point of view.\nThe estimated generation cost of both imported and exported electricity is lower than Swedish\ncogeneration, even when the heat income from sold heat is accounted for. If Norway is once\nagain removed from the comparison , the results shows that the generation cost of both the\nimported and by export replaced average electricity is similar to Swedish cogeneration. As\ncogeneration also generates useful heat it can be assumed to be a better alternative compared\nto the average electricity generation in these countries. Swedish cogeneration can however not\ncompete with the cheap and emission free Norwegian hydro power.\nFuture CO2-emissions will decrease faster for the North European average electricity\ncompared to Swedish cogeneration, but will still be higher. The cost of generating this\nelectricity will still be higher than Swedish cogeneration but the gap will decrease. Sweden\nwill based on the results join Norway and generate enough CO2-free electricity by 2015 to\nmeet its annual domestic needs.\nThe efficient Rya NGCC CHP has lower emissions compared to marginal electricity in\nNorthern Europe. The use of natural gas which is the cleanest fossil fuel alternative and the\nlower average efficiency in the abroad power generation makes Rya a relatively clean facility.\nEspecially when keeping in mind the high heat demand that exists in Gothenburg’s urban area\nduring winter season when Rya is operated.