Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Electricity Generation
Summary
Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) of electricity generation provides an integrated evaluation of environmental, economic and social impacts across the full supply chain of power systems. It encompasses raw material extraction, component manufacture, construction, operation, maintenance, decommissioning and end-of-life management. By combining traditional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with life cycle costing and social impact appraisal, LCSA identifies hotspots of greenhouse gas emissions, resource depletion, toxicity burdens, levelised costs and socio-economic outcomes such as employment and community welfare. Midpoint and endpoint characterisation methods quantify impacts at different stages, while cradle-to-cradle boundaries capture circular economy opportunities. Scenario analysis applied to national electricity mixes, emerging renewables (solar-PV, wind, hydro, geothermal) and low-carbon technologies (nuclear, energy storage) has guided policy and investment decisions worldwide. The approach supports decarbonisation pathways, highlights trade-offs between climate mitigation and other sustainability goals, and underpins practical applications in energy planning, regulatory frameworks and technology development.
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Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Electricity Generation publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in life cycle sustainability assessment of electricity generation across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA): An integrated method combining environmental LCA, life cycle costing and social LCA to evaluate sustainability across technical, economic and social dimensions.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): A systematic approach to quantify environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product or system’s life cycle.
Midpoint indicators: Impact metrics that characterise environmental burdens at the problem-oriented level (e.g., global warming potential, acidification).
Endpoint indicators: Aggregated damage metrics that translate midpoint impacts into consequences for human health, ecosystem quality and resource availability.
Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE): The net present cost per unit of electricity generated over a system’s lifetime, accounting for capital, operation and decommissioning costs.
Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA): A decision-support framework that weighs and ranks alternative options based on multiple, often conflicting criteria.
References
- Environmental assessment of multiple “cleaner electricity mix” scenarios within just energy and circular economy transitions, in Italy and Europe. Journal of Cleaner Production (2023).
- Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of the Spanish Electricity: Past, Present and Future Projections. Energies (2020).
- An integrated life cycle sustainability assessment of electricity generation in Turkey. Energy Policy (2016).
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