Quantifying Total Environmental Impact of the Power Sector Using Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment: a case study for Thailand

The electricity generation is vital to industries and economic development in Thailand. In this study, the input-output life cycle assessment (IO-LCA) is applied to estimate the direct and indirect impacts from the power generation sector for the years 2005 and 2010. Based on the input-output analysis, more than 90% of the total environmental impact of Thailandʼs power sector involves ten relevant sectors. Results reveal that the most significant environmental damage was on natural resources followed by human health, climate change, and ecosystem quality. The most dominant environmental impacts were non-renewable energy, global warming and respiratory inorganic effects. Furthermore, the power sector, which accounts for 80% and 61% of total each impact in 2010 respectively, had a large direct impact on climate change and human health. On the contrary, the coal and lignite, and metal ore sectors contributed significantly to indirect impacts on ecosystem quality and resources. Regarding the results, some additional suggestions can be made to improve current policies in Thailand, including the implementation of green manufacturing in the iron and steel production, and installing control devices in all power plant units. Consequently, IO-LCA can be applied to other industries for assessing their total environmental impacts, and planning CO2 mitigation strategies.