Abstract
Driven by the Paris Agreement for curbing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, extensive research efforts are undertaken in pursuit of a carbon-neutral future. The energy sector is the first to bear the brunt of climate change due to its large share of GHG emissions, and a decarbonization strategy is urgently needed. In compliance with three main lines of Corporate Social Responsibility, this study explores the environmental, economic, and social impacts of hybrid energy systems decarbonization by integrating the environmental sustainability, techno-economic and sociological considerations through a multi-objective optimization framework. The proposed model simultaneously minimizes the total annualized costs, minimizes the scope 1, 2, 3 emissions for environmental justice, and maximizes medium opportunity hours by integrating life cycle assessment and economic input-output analysis. The optimization results provide guidance for sustainable design and operations of energy systems, identify environmental hotspots and associated mitigation strategies, and inform the resulting social benefits. The applicability of the proposed modeling framework is illustrated through case study using Cornell’s main campus.
