Systematic tools based on data envelopment analysis for the life cycle sustainability evaluation of technologies

Identifier:  TDX:2648

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX2648

Authors:  Ewertowska, Anna

Abstract:
Moving towards a more sustainable energy system has been a main aim of modern societies during the last decades. The minimization of the fossil fuels dependence in order to improve sustainability has become the goal for investigators and policy makers jointly with the development of new strategies and policies. The presented thesis introduces the combined use of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) technique as a suitable tool to achieve these challenges. The environmental performance (eco-efficiency) of the electricity mix of the top European economies has been studied and the environmentally efficient and inefficient countries have been identified. For the inefficient ones, the targets have been provided in order to make them efficient. Moreover, the DEA+LCA method has been extended to deal with the uncertainty, through the implementation of the Pedigree matrix approach and Monte Carlo simulation to enable the eco-efficiency assessment under uncertainty. Our results provide valuable insight for governments and policy makers that aim to satisfy the electricity demand while minimizing the associated environmental impacts and considering the uncertainties of the data.