Lifecycle Analysis

Lifecycle analysis is critical to assessing the total CO2 equivalent emissions that a product (or company) is responsible for over a given time period.

This is important, from an emitter’s point of view, for at least two reasons.

• Firstly, in establishing accurately on a whole life basis what the emissions are.

• Secondly, in therefore better being able to analyse what parts of the production process to focus on to achieve emissions reductions.

These two needs will only become greater over time as carbon emissions increase, as the economic costs increase and as governments take greater policy steps to reduce emissions.

We therefore provide the following analyses for Users and Members:

• Energy Payback: the period of time for which a project needs to be in operation before it has generated as much electricity as it consumes in its lifecycle.

• Carbon Payback: the period of time for which a project needs to be in operation before it has, by displacing generation from fossil fuelled power stations, avoided as much CO2 as was released in its lifecycle.

• Lifecycle: the entire production cycle including the extraction and manufacturing of raw materials and the product manufacture together with their transportation, installation, maintenance, dismantling and disposal, including materials recycling.

• Levelised Cost of Electricity: NPV of cost of producing electricity compared to NPV of production, and hence the minimum breakeven level over the life of the project