A step-by-step calculation of the combined margin grid emission factor of the national electricity system of mauritius

Abstract

A step-by-step calculation of the combined margin grid emission factor for the national electricity system of the island of Mauritius using the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Methodological Tool 07—“Tool to calculate the emission factor for an electricity system (Version 04.0)” is provided. Using statistical data for electricity generation and fuel consumption for the years 2012, 2013, and 2014, the operating margin emission factor has been calculated as 1.0170 tCO2/MWh, while the build margin emission factor has been found to be 0.8135 tCO2/MWh. These values give a combined margin emission factor of 0.9661 tCO2/MWh for grid electricity generated from wind power or solar PV. For any other types of grid-tied renewable electricity generation or energy efficiency measures that displace grid electricity, the combined margin grid emission factor is 0.9152 tCO2/MWh. The CDM methodological tool has been applied to develop a standardized greenhouse gas emission baseline for the national grid of Mauritius that will be valid until January 2019. A comparison of the grid emission factor of Mauritius to those of selected African countries is carried out, and the comparative advantages of attracting climate finance are discussed.