The majority of Canada’s 300 remote communities must rely on petrol by-products for electricity and heating. This dependency to fossil fuel leads to vulnerability towards barrel price fluctuation and environmental impacts. However, alternative energy sources are gaining in interest in remote areas and initiatives in artic climate have proven feasibility. In this context, a multi-criteria approach is essential to take into account the multiplicity of stakeholders, objectives, alternatives and criteria.
This study presents a multi-criteria decision analysis of four alternative energy systems for heating, that is waste gasification and three types of combustion (fuel oil, natural gas and wood pellets). A systemic approach is considered based on environmental, social and economic aspects. A single-family house in Kuujjuaq is selected for a case study. Located up to the 58th parallel, Kuujjuaq is the capital of the regional administration Kativik which encompass Nunavik. The preference ranking organization method for enrichment and evaluation (PROMETHEE) used provide a final ranking of the solutions and sensibility analyses open the discussion toward this ranking.
Results show that wood pellets are the most suitable fuel for heating in all scenarios. This solution is followed by local waste gasification for the base-case and environmental scenarios and by fuel oil for the social and economic scenarios.
These results do not stand alone and join analyses made on electricity production for remote area and efficient measures to reduce consumptions.
| Date | 28 Feb 2018 |
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| Original language | French |
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| Awarding Institution | - École de technologie supérieure
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| Supervisor | Daniel Rousse (Supervisor) |
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Yan, C. (Author),
Rousse (Supervisor),
28 Feb 2018Student thesis: Master's thesis › Master in Engineering: Environmental Engineering