A zero-carbon supply chain model: minimising levelised cost of onsite renewable generation

ABSTRACT This paper develops a linear optimisation model to investigate whether it is feasible to operate a net-zero-carbon supply chain network via 100% of onsite wind and solar generation. In particular, this work determines the technology, location and size of renewable generating units in an integrated production–transportation system with the goal of minimising the levelised cost of renewable energy. Numerical experiments show that it is technically feasible and economically viable to realise a zero-carbon supply chain operation provided the local facility possesses a medium wind speed and the installation cost of photovoltaics drops to $2 per watt.

[1]  Chen Changsong,et al.  Forecasting power output for grid-connected photovoltaic power system without using solar radiation measurement , 2010, The 2nd International Symposium on Power Electronics for Distributed Generation Systems.

[2]  Eric R. Zieyel.  Operations research : applications and algorithms , 1988 .

[3]  Philippe Lacomme,et al.  Linear Model for Supply Chain Operational Planning and Carbon Footprint Optimization , 2013 .

[4]  Brian W. Kernighan,et al.  AMPL: A Modeling Language for Mathematical Programming , 1993 .

[5]  Christopher P. Cameron,et al.  The levelized cost of energy for distributed PV: A parametric study , 2010, 2010 35th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference.

[6]  Shih-Cheng Hu,et al.  Power consumption of semiconductor fabs in Taiwan , 2003 .

[7]  Randall P. Sadowski,et al.  Simulation with Arena , 1998 .

[8]  Valérie Moatti,et al.  Greening the Supply Chain: Preliminary Results of a Global Survey , 2008 .

[9]  Ayman Attya,et al.  Utilising stored wind energy by hydro-pumped storage to provide frequency support at high levels of wind energy penetration , 2015 .

[10]  David Guerrero,et al.  Supplying Cities from Abroad: The Geography of Inter-Urban Freight Flows , 2014 .

[11]  Peter Ball,et al.  Zero carbon manufacturing facility — towards integrating material, energy, and waste process flows , 2009 .

[12]  Hamdy A. Taha,et al.  Operations research: an introduction / Hamdy A. Taha , 1982 .

[13]  Ming-Chuan Chiu,et al.  A case-based method for service-oriented value chain and sustainable network design , 2015, Adv. Eng. Informatics.

[14]  Mark S. Daskin,et al.  Carbon Footprint and the Management of Supply Chains: Insights From Simple Models , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering.

[15]  Yu Tian,et al.  Toward net-zero carbon manufacturing operations: an onsite renewables solution , 2017, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[16]  R. Hammami,et al.  Carbon emissions in a multi-echelon production-inventory model with lead time constraints , 2015 .

[17]  Keivan Zokaeï,et al.  Understanding Environmental Sustainability of Supply Chains: The Biofuels Industry in the United Kingdom , 2014 .

[18]  Gerard Nogues Sabate.  The supply chain of the future , 2013 .

[19]  Tongdan Jin,et al.  Designing a Sustainable and Distributed Generation System for Semiconductor Wafer Fabs , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering.