Describing Long-Term Electricity Demand Scenarios in the Telecommunications Industry: A Case Study of Japan

Sustainability

Yusuke Kishita²  Yohei Yamaguchi³  Yasushi Umeda⁴  Yoshiyuki Shimoda³  Minako Hara¹  Atsushi Sakurai¹  Hiroki Oka¹  Yuriko Tanaka¹ 

[1] Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-9-11, Midori-cho, Musashino, Tokyo 1808585, Japan;;Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 1-2-1, Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 3058564, JapanDivision of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1, Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 5650871, Japan;Department of Precision Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 1138656, Japan;

关键词: green ICT;    scenario planning;    electricity consumption;    telecommunications industry;    statistical approach;   

DOI  :  10.3390/su8010052

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Due to the rapid expansion of information and communication technology (ICT) usage, the telecommunications industry is faced with a challenge to promote green ICT toward achieving a low-carbon society. One critical obstacle in planning long-term strategies for green ICT is the uncertainty of various external factors, such as consumers’ lifestyle and technological advancement. To tackle this issue, this paper employs a scenario planning method to analyze electricity consumption in the telecommunications industry, where both changes in various external factors and energy-saving measures are assumed. We propose a model to estimate future electricity consumption of the telecommunications industry using a statistical approach. In a case study, we describe four scenarios that differ in the diffusion of ICT and the technological advancement of ICT equipment in order to analyze the electricity consumption in Japan’s telecommunications industry to 2030. The results reveal that the electricity consumption in 2030 becomes 0.7–1.6-times larger than the 2012 level (10.7 TWh/year). It is also shown that the most effective measures to reduce the electricity consumption include improving the energy efficiency of IP (Internet Protocol) communication equipment and mobile communication equipment.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.