Exploring life cycle trade-offs of the electricity solutions on Brazilian urban environments: Ways towards a low-carbon economy

The electricity infrastructure is a driver of economic and technological urban development, especially in emerging economies. However, this infrastructure may be responsible for the intense climate change environmental and economic impacts, influencing the sustainable development of the territories. Thus, this study aims to analyze the trade-offs in the managerial decision-making process for selecting energy sources based on comparative life cycle management techniques and availability analysis. For that, we consider the case study of an organization's decision-making process for purchasing electricity in the Brazilian Free Energy Market from eight scenarios that represent diverse options for the electricity mix in urban areas of the country. Therefore, the life cycle assessments analyzed scenarios' environmental, economic, and availability characteristics, comparing them in a compromise solution tool. The findings pinpointed free energy consumers' strategic role as agents in emerging countries' public policies, promoting renewable sources in regional and national contexts. As the main contribution, the study reveals the key relationships between the life cycle characteristics of urban electrical solutions in emerging countries and their influence on regional and national sustainable energy management. Therefore, the study provides the integration of sustainable and technical elements of electricity systems turning the managerial decision-making towards the energy transition more robust.(c) 2023 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.