Comparisons between energy carriers' productions for exploiting renewable energy sources

This paper provides comparisons between three different energy carriers that could be produced within areas having cheap electricity. The comparisons were made in terms of the technological efficiencies and economical viabilities for five different scenarios. Economical comparisons were based on IRR (internal rate of return) calculations and sensitivity analyses covering different independent variables such as carbon tax, electricity price and capital costs. It was discovered that SNG (synthetic natural gas) and LNG (liquid natural gas) production is economically uncompetitive compared to ammonia and methanol productions. Ammonia production would be the better choice if there were a carbon tax between 0 and 83EUR/t of CO2. At a carbon tax higher than 83EUR/t, methanol production would be the more economical option.