Consulting and research
Social LCA: Notebook.- Continous LCI database registry.
- SLCA: Cut roses.
- Mathematical analysis of ecoinvent data.
- Emission factors for renewable energies.
- German electricity mix data set.
- Municipal waste incineration models.
Validation of emission factors of renewable energies
Project goal
Goals of the project were, for one, to validate airborne emission factors for data sets of renewable energies. Second, representativity of these data sets was to be verified regarding the German conditions for the years 1995, 2000, and 2005, and finally, recommandations for revising the data sets needed to be developed.
Project description
Data sets for renewable energies available in the GEMIS software of the Öko-Institut provided a basis for the validation. Other sources were research reports, software and data bases, technical literature, and statistics. Various plausibility checks and calculations were applied to check these data sets.
Results
Since there was often no ideally suited data set available, all data sets were grouped into three application categories: "OK", "to be used as interim", and "not OK ut no better appropiate data set available". The GEMIS data sets showed two main problems: lack of transparency, and incorrect values and flows. The software itself showed also some deficits.
The validated data sets were modelled in 
openLCA, an open source software for LCA.
Based on the investigations, following points are proposed for life cycle data sets of renewable energies:
- Increased transparency
- Completeness
- Development of a quality assurance
- Increased availability of data sets from publicly financed projects
Time period
2008-2009
Commissioner/Cooperation partner
The project was commisioned by the Umweltbundesamt.
Resources
No public report is available.