Life cycle sustainability assessment of infrastructure projects: An application in energy production

Abstract

Infrastructure projects pose serious challenges and opportunities in the development of a country. A better road infrastructure will ensure that country’s economic wheel keeps running and a better electricity infrastructure would keep the national bulb lighting. Without taking a life cycle perspective of such development projects, it is very hard to reach to a mutual decision. Sustainable development of infrastructure needs consideration on all three dimensions of sustainability. Pakistan is facing problems in the area of power production infrastructure due to various causes and power outage has become a soaring issue due to a tenacious and spreading gap between demand and supply. Moreover, the current production is causing severe environmental and energy security issues due to reliance on thermal sources. Stakeholders are showing great concern to address these issues but a significant knowledge gap results into discrepancies in policies that govern energy sector. A comprehensive approach over the sustainability is missing due to non-adoption of life cycle thinking. This study present a new line of thinking by delivering an integrated life cycle sustainability assessment of the electricity sector in Pakistan. In total, 20 sustainability indicators have been assessed covering life cycle of seven power production sources currently in use. These sources have been ranked using weighted multi-criteria decision analysis. Hydropower energy is found as the most sustainable option having lowest environmental and economic impacts. While due to worst economic and social impacts, generation with fuel oil is found to be least sustainable. Establishing tradeoffs between different electricity options, this study presents an unbiased view emphasizing the use of life cycle approach in sustainability assessment for improving energy policies.