INITIATIVES OF THE CITY GAS INDUSTRY TO COMBAT GLOBAL WARMING IN JAPAN. Yasutoshi Hattori Manager of Environment Department The Japan Gas Association

Transcription

1 INITIATIVES OF THE CITY GAS INDUSTRY TO COMBAT GLOBAL WARMING IN JAPAN Yasutoshi Hattori Manager of Environment Department The Japan Gas Association , Toranomon, Minatoku, Tokyo 15-1, Japan 27-present The Japan Gas Association Environment Department Toho Gas Co., Ltd 1. Introduction During the First Commitment Period of the Kyoto Protocol, Japan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent compared to FY 199 figures. Discussions are underway to establish the framework to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the medium- to long-term post-212. With this background, the city gas industry in Japan is taking action on both the supply and demand sides to reduce CO 2 emissions. Firstly, regarding the initiatives at the city gas production and supply stages, the city gas industry is participating with other sectors in Keidanren s Voluntary Action Plan on the Environment and has declared CO 2 reduction targets within the sector, in addition to striving to reduce CO 2 emissions under strict surveillance by the Government. If the targets are achieved, CO 2 emissions intensity will be reduced by 86 percent and the total volume of CO 2 emissions will be reduced by 59 percent in FY21 compared to FY199 figures. Secondly, regarding the initiatives on the customer-side, we are promoting the use of natural gas and high-efficiency equipment, such as cogeneration, high-efficiency gas water heaters, fuel cells and natural gas vehicles, to reduce CO 2 emissions. Fig.1 Initiatives of the City Gas Industry to Combat Global Warming 1

2 Moreover, the Japan Gas Association formulated GAS VISION 23 to promote the contribution of natural gas to the creation of a low-carbon society and sustainable communities. It is our aim to realize the potential of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 48 million t-co 2 p.a. by promoting the wider use of natural gas, and the development and introduction of technologies for improving the efficiency of natural gas utilization. Among these initiatives, we are actively promoting the evolution of distributed energy systems with our sights towards 23. This paper introduces these initiatives. Keywords : Keidanren s Voluntary Action Plan, reducing GHG, high-efficiency water heaters, Fuel cell, distributed energy system 2. Initiatives at the city gas production and supply stages At the production and supply stages, as a participant in the Keidanren Voluntary Action Plan on the Environment, the city gas industry is committed to reducing its CO 2 emissions. While Japan s total production of city gas more than doubled between fiscal 199 and fiscal 26, CO 2 emissions were significantly reduced from 1.33 million tons to 38, tons as a result of the efforts described below. Regarding CO 2 emissions intensity, 84 grams of CO 2 were emitted in the production of a cubic meter of gas in 199. By 26, this had been reduced to 11 grams. This translates into an 87 percent reduction. CO2 emissions (1, t-co2) CO2 emissions intensity (g-co2/m 3 ) (666 CO2 emissions CO PJ) intensity 2 emissions Intensity City gas produced (production activity index) 349 (1,46PJ) Fiscal year Fig.2 Results of Voluntary Action Plan The entire city gas industry is involved in switching its feedstock to natural gas. The efficiency of the gas production process differs significantly by type of feedstock. In the case of coal, production efficiency is about 8 percent. For oil, it is around 9 percent. For the natural gas process using LNG, efficiency is about 99 percent. By making the transition to the natural gas process, CO 2 emissions in the gas production stage can be significantly reduced. Most city gas companies have completed their transition to natural gas. City gas companies that have completed the transition to natural gas are now engaged in other efforts to further reduce CO 2 emissions. For instance, improvements are being made in the efficiency of gas producing equipment, including seawater pumps for LNG vaporizer and boil-off gas compressors. The greater use of LNG cold energy is being 2 38 CO 2 emissions City gas produced 21 Target (1 million m 3 )

3 actively promoted. This includes cold energy power generation and the installation of boil-off gas liquefaction equipment. As we endeavor to meet our emission goals, further efforts will be made to introduce highly efficient equipment when building or renewing our facilities. 3. Customer-side initiatives On the customer-side, we are promoting the use of natural gas and high efficiency equipment, and we are undertaking actions to reduce CO 2 emissions. The city gas industry is actively promoting natural gas cogeneration. We are on track to achieve the target set forth in the Kyoto Protocol Target Achievement Plan for the installation of facilities with a capacity totaling about 5 million kilowatts by fiscal 21. As of 26, facilities with a capacity totaling approximately 4 million kilowatts had already been installed. The Kyoto Protocol Target Achievement Plan was formulated by the government of Japan to comply with the Kyoto Protocol. [GW] 6. Installed Capacity Fig.3 Promotion of Natural Gas Cogeneration FY In recent years, good progress has been made in improving the power generation efficiency of cogeneration systems and developing more compact equipment. These advances have opened the door to many new opportunities for the use of efficient natural-gas cogeneration where it had been difficult to introduce cogeneration systems. For instance, natural-gas cogeneration systems can now be used more readily in factories, where electricity accounts for a high proportion of total energy consumption, as well as in offices and homes, where demand is small. For the household sector, we are actively promoting the development and use of high-efficiency gas water heaters, specifically latent heat recovery water heaters and gas engine water heaters. These technologies boast outstanding performances in terms of reduction of CO 2 emissions. The thermal efficiency of latent heat recovery water heaters is 95 percent, compared to 8 percent for conventional equipment. These units can also reduce CO 2 emissions by 13 percent. Gas engine water heaters, which are gas engine cogeneration systems with 1 kilowatt power generation capacity, can reduce CO 2 emissions by 32 percent. The installation of high-efficiency gas water heaters is steadily increasing (Fig.4). About 2, gas engine water heaters were installed for residential customers in fiscal 26. To further accelerate the pace of installation, we are aiming to make high-efficiency gas water heaters the de facto standard on a shipment basis by

4 1, units 25 Latent heat recovery water heaters Eco - Jozu 2 Target Actual Energy saving rate:13% CO 2 reduction rate:13% FY 1, units Gas engine cogeneration for residential Target Actual Energy saving rate: 22% CO 2 reduction rate: 32% FY 7.4 Fig.4 Promotion of High-Efficiency Water Heaters For the medium- to long-term, the industry aims to further reduce CO 2 emissions by promoting the development and full-scale diffusion stage of household-use fuel cells, the next step in home power generation. A large-scale trial project is currently being conducted for fuel cells. So far, a power generation efficiency rate as high as 37 percent, a CO 2 reduction rate of 41 percent have been achieved in this trial project. By the end of fiscal 27, about 2, fuel cells had been installed for residential customers. PEFC (Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell) Generation efficiency rate: 37% Energy saving rate: 32% CO 2 reduction rate: 45% Fig.5 Residential Fuel Cell Initiatives 4

5 The Kyoto Protocol Target Achievement Plan contains various measures for involving the public on a broad scale in a national movement. These measures include programs for providing public information on methods to combat global warming and promoting environmental education. In the area of public information, the city gas industry is engaged in the following initiatives: issuing monthly meter reading slips indicating gas usage for the same month of the previous year, distributing pamphlets containing energy-saving tips, providing energy-conservation checks via website, and equipping remote controls with energy-saving navigation functions. In the area of environmental education, our guest instructors teach classes on environmental and energy issues in elementary and junior high schools. We are also organizing eco-cooking classes throughout Japan to promote an environmentally friendly food culture, covering everything from shopping to cooking and cleaning up. The Japan Gas Association formulated GAS VISION 23 to promote the contribution of natural gas to the creation of a low-carbon society and sustainable communities. It is our aim to realize the potential of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 48 million t-co 2 p.a. by promoting the wider use of natural gas and the development and introduction of technologies for improving the efficiency of natural gas utilization. Among these initiatives, we are actively promoting the evolution of distributed energy systems with our sights towards 23. Fig.6 Gas Vision 23 5

6 Fig.7 Local Production and Consumption Systems Utilizing Renewable Energy Sources One of our specific strategies is the promotion of local production and consumption systems utilizing renewable energy sources. We believe this strategy can play a crucial part in combating global warming by promoting the use of biogas, photovoltaic power, wind power, and other renewable energy sources. One of the hurdles to the use of renewable energy sources is that power output is unstable because such systems are easily affected by the weather and other conditions. An effective solution to this problem of unstable power supply is to combine renewable energy sources with cogeneration systems whose power output can be easily adjusted. This combination can stabilize power output and avoid negative impacts on the power grid. We are engaged in developing new technologies and business models that will facilitate the wide use of renewable energy sources in local production and consumption systems. With our second specific strategy, we are committed to promoting area-based and network-based energy use in urban areas. In our modern cities, buildings are equipped with their own energy equipment and systems, which operate at low levels of capacity utilization and efficiency. This makes it difficult to improve energy efficiency beyond a certain point. In urban areas with highly concentrated energy use, different user demand patterns can be combined to even out the energy load and to raise system operating rates. This solution creates further savings in energy consumption. This approach is being used in buildings, in city blocks, and in district heating and cooling systems. 4. Summary Japan s city gas industry continues to reduce CO 2 emissions at the gas production and supply stages as a participant in the Keidanren Voluntary Action Plan. On the customer-side, the industry is aim to make GAS VISION 23 as a comprehensive program for promoting the more widespread use of natural gas and high-efficiency equipment, area-based energy use, as well as the wider use of biogas. Finally, in its interaction with customers, the city gas industry is committed to providing information for energy conservation. 6