Electric Transmission and Distribution Network Air Pollution.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Energy Systems Engineering
• Public Health

Background:

• Renewable energy sources offer significant environmental benefits over fossil fuels due to lower polluting emissions.
• The transition to sustainable energy involves increased electrification, impacting energy infrastructure.
• Limited research exists on operational emissions from electricity distribution and transmission networks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate potential harmful emissions from electricity distribution and transmission networks during their operational life.
• To assess the environmental and human health risks associated with these emissions.
• To highlight the growing relevance of this issue with increasing electrification.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of existing scientific studies on network emissions.
• Analysis of reported conditions where networks cause or promote pollutant release.
• Examination of research focusing on fault detection techniques that incidentally record emissions.

Main Results:

• The scientific literature on operational emissions from electricity networks is currently limited.
• Specific conditions exist where electrical networks directly contribute to environmental pollutant emissions.
• Most recorded emissions are studied in the context of fault detection, not direct health or environmental impact.

Conclusions:

• Electricity distribution and transmission networks may pose environmental and health risks through operational emissions.
• The issue of network-related emissions is likely to become more significant as energy consumption becomes more electrified.
• Further research is needed to fully understand and mitigate these potential impacts.