Accounting for Carbon Emissions from the Manufacturing Process of High Voltage Cable

Taking high-voltage cable equipment as the research object, this paper focuses on the carbon footprint behaviors and factors in the manufacturing process of cable products. Carbon emission sources are identified across four stages: cable raw material acquisition, production process, usage, and disposal. Based on the life cycle assessment theory and using “lkm of cable” as the reference flow, data on the inputs of raw materials/components, auxiliary materials, energy, and natural resources, as well as the outputs of greenhouse gases, waste, and recyclable scraps corresponding to these four stages, are collected to establish a carbon footprint accounting model for the manufacturing process of cable equipment. To validate the scientificity and operability of the accounting method, a 220kV ZC- Y JL W03-Z cable with a cross-sectional area of 2500mm<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> is selected as the accounting target, and the cradle-to-gate carbon footprint results of this specification of cable from two suppliers are calculated. The carbon footprint accounting model proposed in this paper helps high-voltage cable manufacturers and power grid enterprises to understand the emission sources in detail, clarify the emissions of each production link, provide a scientific assessment method for the low-carbon selection of cable equipment and green grid, and strongly support the “dual-carbon” action of the power grid from the equipment side.