Modeling the multiple benefits of electricity savings for emissions reduction on power grid level: A case study of China’s chemical industry

Industry is a large electricity user. China’s chemical industry (globally the largest based on sales) contributes 7% to China’s GDP, while it consumes 11% of the total electricity consumption in industry and is responsible for 40% of total CO2eq, 40% of SO2, 59% of NOx and 18% of PM-emissions of the chemical industry emissions. The heterogeneity of GHG and air pollutant emissions across electricity grids (within a country) is rarely included in analyses. In this paper, electricity conservation supply curves are developed (distinguishing the grids) to estimate the cost-effective and technical potentials of electricity conservation in China’s chemical industry. The emission factors per grid for GHG (i.e. CO2, CH4 and N2O) and air pollutants (i.e. SO2, NOx and PM2.5) are calculated and used to quantify the emissions mitigation achieved by electricity saving technologies in the chemical industry for the period 2012–2035. Results show that significant multiple benefits can be obtained by implementing electricity efficiency measures. There are large differences among the six grids in terms electricity savings and emissions abatement of GHG and air pollutants. 83% of the total electricity saving potential is contributed by the North, Northwest and Central grids, equal to 32% of baseline electricity consumption in 2035. In 2035, 129 Mt of CO2, 33 kt CO2eq of CH4, 571 kt CO2eq of N2O, 235 kt of SO2, 275 kt of NOx and 52 kt of PM2.5 in these three grids can be avoided as a result of electricity savings (a reduction of 31–33% compared to baseline emissions). When decision-makers set targets for energy saving and emission reduction, the multiple benefits and grid heterogeneity should not be ignored.