Chapter 3. RE Policy Implementation Environment
3.3 Environmental Consideration for RE Deployment
3.3.1 Environmental impacts of RE technologies
3.3.1.1 Solar PV
The environmental issues related to the installation of solar PV plants include soil erosion, damage to the landscape, damage to natural ecology protection areas, damage to natural greens and occurrence of electromagnetic wave.
❙ Table 3-2 ❙ Environmental impact of solar PV
Subject Environmental Impact
Atmosphere • Reduction of environmental pollution and global warming by replacing fossil fuel.
• Reduction of ability to lower CO2 if construction destroys vegetation and forests
Water Quality
• Leakage of toxic liquid form solar PV panel can have negative effects on water quality in streams and reservoirs, as well as groundwater, and causes soil erosion.
• Harmful chemical substances are released, including thermic transfer fluids, cleaning solution, salt dissolved, and herbicides used to control vegetation.
Nature
• Construction can destroy the ecosystem.
• Pollutants released from construction equipment and vehicles lead to environmental pollution.
Living Environment
• Soil erosion and the destruction of the landscape and topography can affect living and residential environments.
• Harmful chemical substances are released or disposed of, including thermic transfer fluids, engine fluids, cleaning water of the heat transfer system, salt in solution, hydrogen or helium, herbicides used to control vegetation, and batteries.
Social and Economic Environment
• Solar PV can give economic advantages raised from government support.
• The construction of PV power plants creates job opportunities in the long term.
• Electricity becomes expensive as the unit cost is high.
Source: Kwon et al. (2015)
3.3.1.2 Wind Power
Usually, wind farm requires larger areas of land than fossil fuel power plants and therefore the construction of their facilities, including the ramps, transmission lines, and grounds could have detrimental effects on the environment. Damage can be caused to the mountain sites, and the habitats and moving paths of vulnerable species could be destroyed.
❙Table 3-3❙ Environmental impact of wind power
Subject Environmental Impact
Atmosphere • Reduction of environmental pollution and global warming by replacing fossil fuel.
• Reduction of ability to lower CO2 if construction destroys vegetation and forests
Nature
• Rotor blades can kill birds and affect their habitats or migration routes.
• The erection of wind power plants inevitably destroys the areas used for their operation facilities, substations, access roads for construction vehicles, cranes, and to secure safety and vision.
• Construction of wind power plants disturbs the landscape and ecosystem.
• Depending on the type of land used for wind power plants, environmental issues, such as damage to vegetation, ecosystem, and habitats can be raised.
Living Environment
• As there is no solid waste, there are no waste disposal issues.
• Wind power plants cause changes in the landscape and put stress on habitats.
• Shadows of pillars of power generators and their rotor blades cause stress for residents nearby.
• Residents nearby could develop wind turbine syndrome (WTS).
• Light reflex from rotor blades of wind power generators affect people or livestock.
Social &
Economic Environment
• The price of electricity is not affected by fossil fuel prices.
• Wind power output is highly dependent on the fluctuation of wind speed and hours of generation, lowering stability of power supply.
• In a country where wind power generation is well established, there are positive social awareness and support from residents.
Source: Kwon et al. (2015)
3.3.1.3 Small hydropower
Small hydropower causes inevitable environmental degradation and undermines the tourism and leisure- related industries by their partial use of beautiful landscapes. After setting up the generation facilities, changes in water velocity and levels could cause the flooding of new areas.
❙Table 3-4❙ Environmental impact (small hydropower)
Subject Environmental Impact
Quality of Water
• If enough water for maintenance is not supplied, the streams between the dams and power generators could dry up.
• Water in reservoirs has high cloudiness and eutrophication.
Nature
• As sediment movement between the upper and lower regions of the stream is blocked by the dams, river beds could be changed and land plants could move to the waterside, converting it into land.
• The connectivity and physical flow of the ecosystem are affected, severely undermining the nature of the stream itself, as well as the structure, composition, and function of the ecosystem of inland water.
• Benthic organisms and fishes have limited habitats in the downstream of dams.
• The ability to maintain natural conditions, including the transport and sedimentation of deposits in the stream, can be affected.
• Building small hydropower plants has a long-term effect on the downstream natural environment, its shape and conditions.
• Streams and areas destroyed when installing intake weirs and drilling for water construction tunnels need to be restored.
• When running the power plant, its water capacity is controlled. Therefore, it is assumed to have negative effects on the water volume of streams, their width, velocity, the downstream biota of the ecosystem, connectivity of the ecosystem, and habitats, owing to artificial changes in the downstream ecosystem.
Living Environment
• The power plants are located mostly in valleys free from interference by humans.
However, when power plants are built, negative effects on the landscape and ecosystem of the main stream can be expected.
Source: Kwon et al. (2015)
3.3.1.4 Bioenergy
Bioenergy can emit CO2 into the atmosphere but, compared with fossil fuels, it releases less environmental
❙Table 3-5❙ Environmental impact (biomass)
Subject Environmental Impact
Atmosphere
• During construction and operation, GHG is emitted, polluting the atmosphere.
• The production process through anaerobic fermentation of organic waste, such as food waste, livestock manure, and their bodies, gives off an unpleasant smell.
Quality of Water
• The power plant could affect marine physics and ecosystem, such as ocean temperature changes owing to hot wastewater released from the power plant.
• Wastewater is released from the production process, which produces energy through anaerobic fermentation of organic waste, affects water quality.
Nature • The construction and operation of the power plant affects the habitats of plants and animals.
Living
Environment • Household and industrial waste affects the living environment.
Social &
Economic Environment
• Most fuel used for bioenergy generation is imported in advanced countries, causing energy security issues.
Source: Kwon et al. (2015)