Environmental impact assessment of transportation in distribution transformer life cycle analysis

TM presents an article from the upcoming volume 10 issue 2 by Dr. B. P. Das and G. Khablouti on environmental impact of transportation in transformer LCA.

byDr Bhaba P. Das, Ghazi Kablouti


Investigating the local vs global supply question?

This study aims to assess the environmental impact of transportation in transformer LCA and answer questions to compare localized and globalized transformer supply. Questions to compare localized and globalized transformer supply has contributed to debate around the ‘Transformer Miles’ concept, i.e., ‘the distance transformer (raw materials and the finished unit) travels, from the supplier/factory to factory/installation site”.

A relatively new question related to this issue seeks to answer the question of carbon footprint due to the transportation of raw materials to the factory and delivery of the finished transformer to the end user.

Read the article in pdf

It is well known that the transportation sector generates an enormous amount of environmental emissions. Globally, transportation has the highest reliance on fossil fuels GHG emissions for any sector and it accounted for 37 % of global CO2 emissions from all the end-use sectors in 2021. Most of these emissions are associated with road transportation (5.9 GtCO2), followed by shipping (0.8 GtCO2) and aviation (0.7 GtCO2) [5]. There are essentially three variables that drive CO2 emissions from transportation, and these are the distance travelled, the mass transported, and the mode used. To investigate this question, a commonly used 300 kVA oil-filled distribution transformer (with High-Efficiency Performance Standard, HEPS efficiency) manufactured in Vietnam and transported to New Zealand (NZ) is compared to a 300 kVA oil-filled distribution transformer (HEPS efficiency as per AS 2374.1.2 [6]), manufactured in New Zealand and transported within New Zealand, assuming identical design process.

To read the article, subscribe and choose the option which suits you best. We offer both free and paid options, and the registration takes only a minute.
Subscribe to Transformers Magazine