197-1 Comparing Life-Cycle Environmental Impacts and Costs of Electricity Generation Systems
Session: 2025 Michel T. Halbouty Distinguished Lecture
Presenting Author:
Michael YoungAuthors:
Young, Michael Howard1, Das, Jani2, Gulen, Gurcan3(1) Jackson School of Geosciences, Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA, (2) Jackson School of Geosciences, Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA, (3) Jackson School of Geosciences, Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA,
Abstract:
What are the all-in costs, environmental and economic, of expanding and running an electrical grid for Texas, and how might these costs change over the next 30 years? Can we quantify trade-offs among society’s goals of providing reliable and affordable energy, mitigating climate change, and ensuring affordability for consumers? We achieve these goals through comparative life-cycle assessments (LCA) of different generation systems that include 16 different environmental pathways, including greenhouse gases (CO2eq) and local emissions (particulate matter, SOX, NOX); land and water use and pollution, and others. These LCA analyses consider extraction of natural resources (gas, minerals, etc.), manufacturing of generation equipment, power plant operations, and end-of-life options (e.g., landfilling or recycling of equipment). Geosciences play a central role in virtually every step in the life cycle of these systems, from identifying and extracting mineral deposits, to understanding environmental emissions from operations, to deciding how to manage waste products.
We show in our study how environmental impacts manifest along global supply chains for materials (e.g., lithium, cobalt, etc.) that support energy development at different times during the 30-year lifespan of the facilities. And, we connect every operating facility, using different generation mixes, to a nodal-scale, grid dispatch model that allows us to track grid reliability (goal #1), improvements in environmental performance (goal #2), and differences in consumer cost of electricity (goal #3). The results show the complicated nature of impacts along the global supply chain of materials needed for energy development and while electricity is generated, and they point to areas where impacts can be mitigated through innovation and action.
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025
doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-5490
© Copyright 2025 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved.
Comparing Life-Cycle Environmental Impacts and Costs of Electricity Generation Systems
Category
Special Lectures
Description
Session Format: Oral
Presentation Date: 10/21/2025
Presentation Start Time: 12:20 PM
Presentation Room: HBGCC, Stars at Night Ballroom B2&B3
Back to Session