"Power distribution with sustainability" will provide transmission system operators (TSOs) with a framework for the mapping and documentation of environmental sustainability, in the establishment, operation and maintenance of components, together with their dismantling for reuse or recycling.
This framework must be suitable for the production of both data and results for anything, from major, broad analyses of the energy system, to extremely detailed analyses and the selection, for example, of individual components in a transformer.
The project results will contribute to an overview for the TSOs, when identifying the relevant environmental challenges. This will enable them to develop strategies and set goals for their work on internal environmental sustainability.
There is an increasing requirement for the documentation of sustainability, both in the case of individual actors within the energy sector, and for the energy sector as a whole.
The framework must be capable of being used in communicating with customers, suppliers and the authorities. This will be achieved through the specific selection of robust and scientifically based indicators for the environmental and resource effects of the distribution grid.
As a result of this innovation, environmental sustainability will become an important component in the business management of participating TSOs. It will enable them to make changes in their distribution and transformation systems, and thus lead them in a sustainable direction.
The framework must also be suitable for use in the documentation of the overall sustainability of network operations in Norway.
Among the research questions the most important will be:
- Which components in the network contribute environmental challenges relating to network operations?
- How can land use and land changes be quantified, alongside the possible effects on biodiversity from the distribution of electricity?
- Which environmental indicators with their associated calculation methods, are relevant in assessing the environmental impact of network operations?
- How can these environmental indicators be employed in the strategy development of TSOs?
The results from the project will be in constant use in establishing the strategic goals of the TSOs, being implemented as assessment criteria in business management and strategy plans, as well as in the reporting of environmental and climate accounting.
The project manager is Energi Norge AS. Project leader Ketil Sagen.
R&D suppliers are NORSUS, NMBU and Geodata.
The transmission system operators participating in the project are: Agder Energi Nett AS, BKK Nett AS, Elvia AS, Lede AS and Tensio TN AS.
