IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v239y2019icp1308-1321.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of hydro power, storage and transmission in the decarbonization of the Chinese power system

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Hailiang
  • Brown, Tom
  • Andresen, Gorm Bruun
  • Schlachtberger, David P.
  • Greiner, Martin

Abstract

Deep decarbonization of the electricity sector can be provided by a high penetration of renewable sources such as wind, solar PV and hydro power. Flexibility from hydro and storage complements the high temporal variability of wind and solar, and transmission infrastructure helps the power balancing by moving electricity in the spatial dimension. We study cost-optimal highly-renewable Chinese power systems under ambitious CO2 emission reduction targets, by deploying a 31-node hourly-resolved techno-economic optimization model supported by a validated weather-converted 38-year-long renewable power generation and electricity demand dataset. With a new realistic reservoir hydro model, we find that if CO2 emission reduction goes beyond 70%, storage facilities such as hydro, battery and hydrogen become necessary for a moderate system cost. Numerical results show that these flexibility components can lower renewable curtailment by two thirds, allow higher solar PV share by a factor of two and contribute to covering summer cooling demand. We show that expanding unidirectional high-voltage DC lines on top of the regional inter-connections is technically sufficient and more economical than ultra-high-voltage-AC-connected “One-Net” grid. Finally, constraining transmission volume from the optimum by up to 25% does not push total costs much higher, while the significant need for battery storage remains even with abundant interconnectivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Hailiang & Brown, Tom & Andresen, Gorm Bruun & Schlachtberger, David P. & Greiner, Martin, 2019. "The role of hydro power, storage and transmission in the decarbonization of the Chinese power system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C), pages 1308-1321.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:239:y:2019:i:c:p:1308-1321
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.02.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261919302995
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.02.009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tranberg, Bo & Schwenk-Nebbe, Leon J. & Schäfer, Mirko & Hörsch, Jonas & Greiner, Martin, 2018. "Flow-based nodal cost allocation in a heterogeneous highly renewable European electricity network," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 122-133.
    2. McPherson, Madeleine & Johnson, Nils & Strubegger, Manfred, 2018. "The role of electricity storage and hydrogen technologies in enabling global low-carbon energy transitions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 649-661.
    3. Ming, Zeng & Lilin, Peng & Qiannan, Fan & Yingjie, Zhang, 2016. "Trans-regional electricity transmission in China: Status, issues and strategies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 572-583.
    4. Ouyang, Xiaoling & Lin, Boqiang, 2014. "Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of renewable energies and required subsidies in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 64-73.
    5. David E. H. J. Gernaat & Patrick W. Bogaart & Detlef P. van Vuuren & Hester Biemans & Robin Niessink, 2017. "High-resolution assessment of global technical and economic hydropower potential," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 2(10), pages 821-828, October.
    6. Shang, Yizi & Lu, Shibao & Ye, Yuntao & Liu, Ronghua & Shang, Ling & Liu, Chunna & Meng, Xianyong & Li, Xiaofei & Fan, Qixiang, 2018. "China’ energy-water nexus: Hydropower generation potential of joint operation of the Three Gorges and Qingjiang cascade reservoirs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 14-32.
    7. Zhang, Ning & Lu, Xi & McElroy, Michael B. & Nielsen, Chris P. & Chen, Xinyu & Deng, Yu & Kang, Chongqing, 2016. "Reducing curtailment of wind electricity in China by employing electric boilers for heat and pumped hydro for energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 987-994.
    8. Lin, Boqiang & Wu, Wei, 2017. "Cost of long distance electricity transmission in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 132-140.
    9. Schlachtberger, D.P. & Brown, T. & Schramm, S. & Greiner, M., 2017. "The benefits of cooperation in a highly renewable European electricity network," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 469-481.
    10. Yi, Bo-Wen & Xu, Jin-Hua & Fan, Ying, 2016. "Inter-regional power grid planning up to 2030 in China considering renewable energy development and regional pollutant control: A multi-region bottom-up optimization model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 641-658.
    11. Becker, Sarah & Frew, Bethany A. & Andresen, Gorm B. & Jacobson, Mark Z. & Schramm, Stefan & Greiner, Martin, 2015. "Renewable build-up pathways for the US: Generation costs are not system costs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 437-445.
    12. Xu, Fangqiu & Liu, Jicheng & Lin, Shuaishuai & Dai, Qiongjie & Li, Cunbin, 2018. "A multi-objective optimization model of hybrid energy storage system for non-grid-connected wind power: A case study in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 585-603.
    13. Thangavelu, Sundar Raj & Khambadkone, Ashwin M. & Karimi, Iftekhar A., 2015. "Long-term optimal energy mix planning towards high energy security and low GHG emission," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 959-969.
    14. Schmidt, Johannes & Cancella, Rafael & Pereira, Amaro O., 2016. "An optimal mix of solar PV, wind and hydro power for a low-carbon electricity supply in Brazil," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 137-147.
    15. Reuß, M. & Grube, T. & Robinius, M. & Preuster, P. & Wasserscheid, P. & Stolten, D., 2017. "Seasonal storage and alternative carriers: A flexible hydrogen supply chain model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 290-302.
    16. Zhang, Yang & Campana, Pietro Elia & Lundblad, Anders & Yan, Jinyue, 2017. "Comparative study of hydrogen storage and battery storage in grid connected photovoltaic system: Storage sizing and rule-based operation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 397-411.
    17. Islam, M.R. & Mekhilef, S. & Saidur, R., 2013. "Progress and recent trends of wind energy technology," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 456-468.
    18. Aneke, Mathew & Wang, Meihong, 2016. "Energy storage technologies and real life applications – A state of the art review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 350-377.
    19. Zhang, Yaru & Ma, Tieju & Guo, Fei, 2018. "A multi-regional energy transport and structure model for China’s electricity system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 907-919.
    20. Lu, Di & Wang, Bende & Wang, Yaodong & Zhou, Huicheng & Liang, Qiuhua & Peng, Yong & Roskilly, Tony, 2015. "Optimal operation of cascade hydropower stations using hydrogen as storage medium," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 56-63.
    21. Zhang, Ning & Hu, Zhaoguang & Shen, Bo & He, Gang & Zheng, Yanan, 2017. "An integrated source-grid-load planning model at the macro level: Case study for China's power sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 231-246.
    22. Pfenninger, Stefan & Staffell, Iain, 2016. "Long-term patterns of European PV output using 30 years of validated hourly reanalysis and satellite data," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1251-1265.
    23. Zhao, Xiaoli & Li, Shujie & Zhang, Sufang & Yang, Rui & Liu, Suwei, 2016. "The effectiveness of China's wind power policy: An empirical analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 269-279.
    24. Andresen, Gorm B. & Søndergaard, Anders A. & Greiner, Martin, 2015. "Validation of Danish wind time series from a new global renewable energy atlas for energy system analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 1074-1088.
    25. Guo, Zheng & Ma, Linwei & Liu, Pei & Jones, Ian & Li, Zheng, 2016. "A multi-regional modelling and optimization approach to China's power generation and transmission planning," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 116(P2), pages 1348-1359.
    26. Wang, Xuebin & Chang, Jianxia & Meng, Xuejiao & Wang, Yimin, 2018. "Short-term hydro-thermal-wind-photovoltaic complementary operation of interconnected power systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 945-962.
    27. Daniel Huertas‐Hernando & Hossein Farahmand & Hannele Holttinen & Juha Kiviluoma & Erkka Rinne & Lennart Söder & Michael Milligan & Eduardo Ibanez & Sergio Martín Martínez & Emilio Gomez‐Lazaro & Ana , 2017. "Hydro power flexibility for power systems with variable renewable energy sources: an IEA Task 25 collaboration," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(1), January.
    28. Khan, Zarrar & Linares, Pedro & Rutten, Martine & Parkinson, Simon & Johnson, Nils & García-González, Javier, 2018. "Spatial and temporal synchronization of water and energy systems: Towards a single integrated optimization model for long-term resource planning," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 499-517.
    29. Liu, Hailiang & Andresen, Gorm Bruun & Greiner, Martin, 2018. "Cost-optimal design of a simplified highly renewable Chinese electricity network," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 534-546.
    30. Staffell, Iain & Pfenninger, Stefan, 2016. "Using bias-corrected reanalysis to simulate current and future wind power output," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1224-1239.
    31. Li, Fang-Fang & Qiu, Jun, 2016. "Multi-objective optimization for integrated hydro–photovoltaic power system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 377-384.
    32. Schlachtberger, D.P. & Brown, T. & Schäfer, M. & Schramm, S. & Greiner, M., 2018. "Cost optimal scenarios of a future highly renewable European electricity system: Exploring the influence of weather data, cost parameters and policy constraints," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 100-114.
    33. Chen, Qixin & Kang, Chongqing & Ming, Hao & Wang, Zeyu & Xia, Qing & Xu, Guoxin, 2014. "Assessing the low-carbon effects of inter-regional energy delivery in China's electricity sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 671-683.
    34. Cheng, Rui & Xu, Zhaofeng & Liu, Pei & Wang, Zhe & Li, Zheng & Jones, Ian, 2015. "A multi-region optimization planning model for China’s power sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 413-426.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liu, Hailiang & Andresen, Gorm Bruun & Greiner, Martin, 2018. "Cost-optimal design of a simplified highly renewable Chinese electricity network," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 534-546.
    2. Matsuo, Yuhji & Endo, Seiya & Nagatomi, Yu & Shibata, Yoshiaki & Komiyama, Ryoichi & Fujii, Yasumasa, 2020. "Investigating the economics of the power sector under high penetration of variable renewable energies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    3. Wang, Hongye & Su, Bin & Mu, Hailin & Li, Nan & Jiang, Bo & Kong, Xue, 2019. "Optimization of electricity generation and interprovincial trading strategies in Southern China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 696-707.
    4. Zhang, Yaru & Ma, Tieju & Guo, Fei, 2018. "A multi-regional energy transport and structure model for China’s electricity system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 907-919.
    5. Jie, Dingfei & Xu, Xiangyang & Guo, Fei, 2021. "The future of coal supply in China based on non-fossil energy development and carbon price strategies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    6. Hansen, Kenneth & Breyer, Christian & Lund, Henrik, 2019. "Status and perspectives on 100% renewable energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 471-480.
    7. Chen, Siyuan & Liu, Pei & Li, Zheng, 2019. "Multi-regional power generation expansion planning with air pollutants emission constraints," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 382-394.
    8. Deng, Xu & Lv, Tao & Xu, Jie & Hou, Xiaoran & Liu, Feng, 2022. "Assessing the integration effect of inter-regional transmission on variable power generation under renewable energy consumption policy in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    9. Shirizadeh, Behrang & Quirion, Philippe, 2022. "The importance of renewable gas in achieving carbon-neutrality: Insights from an energy system optimization model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    10. Mads Raunbak & Timo Zeyer & Kun Zhu & Martin Greiner, 2017. "Principal Mismatch Patterns Across a Simplified Highly Renewable European Electricity Network," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-13, November.
    11. Behrang Shirizadeh, 2020. "Carbon-neutral future with sector-coupling; relative role of different mitigation options in energy sector," Working Papers 2020.19, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    12. Xin-Cheng Meng & Yeon-Ho Seong & Min-Kyu Lee, 2021. "Research Characteristics and Development Trend of Global Low-Carbon Power—Based on Bibliometric Analysis of 1983–2021," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-20, August.
    13. Xiao, Jin & Li, Guohao & Xie, Ling & Wang, Shouyang & Yu, Lean, 2021. "Decarbonizing China's power sector by 2030 with consideration of technological progress and cross-regional power transmission," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    14. Matsuo, Yuhji & Endo, Seiya & Nagatomi, Yu & Shibata, Yoshiaki & Komiyama, Ryoichi & Fujii, Yasumasa, 2018. "A quantitative analysis of Japan's optimal power generation mix in 2050 and the role of CO2-free hydrogen," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(PB), pages 1200-1219.
    15. Alexis Tantet & Marc Stéfanon & Philippe Drobinski & Jordi Badosa & Silvia Concettini & Anna Cretì & Claudia D’Ambrosio & Dimitri Thomopulos & Peter Tankov, 2019. "e 4 clim 1.0: The Energy for a Climate Integrated Model: Description and Application to Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-37, November.
    16. Bai, Bo & Wang, Yihan & Fang, Cong & Xiong, Siqin & Ma, Xiaoming, 2021. "Efficient deployment of solar photovoltaic stations in China: An economic and environmental perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    17. Wang, Xuebin & Chang, Jianxia & Meng, Xuejiao & Wang, Yimin, 2018. "Short-term hydro-thermal-wind-photovoltaic complementary operation of interconnected power systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 945-962.
    18. Behrang Shirizadeh, Quentin Perrier, and Philippe Quirion, 2022. "How Sensitive are Optimal Fully Renewable Power Systems to Technology Cost Uncertainty?," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1).
    19. Mengzhu Xiao & Manuel Wetzel & Thomas Pregger & Sonja Simon & Yvonne Scholz, 2020. "Modeling the Supply of Renewable Electricity to Metropolitan Regions in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-31, June.
    20. Shirizadeh, Behrang & Quirion, Philippe, 2021. "Low-carbon options for the French power sector: What role for renewables, nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:239:y:2019:i:c:p:1308-1321. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.