IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/masfgc/v25y2020i7d10.1007_s11027-019-09909-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Technology-side carbon abatement cost curves for China’s power generation sector

Author

Listed:
  • Lin-Ju Chen

    (Ningbo University)

  • Zhen-Hai Fang

    (Ningbo University)

  • Fei Xie

    (Ningbo University)

  • Hai-Kuo Dong

    (Ningbo University)

  • Yu-Heng Zhou

    (Ningbo University)

Abstract

China is among the largest emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2), worldwide Thus, its emissions mitigation is of global concern. The power generation sector is responsible for nearly half of China’s total CO2 emissions and plays a key role in emissions mitigation. This study is an integrated evaluation of abatement technologies, including both low-carbon power generation technologies and retrofitting options for coal power plants. We draw marginal abatement cost curves for these technologies using the conservation supply curve method. Using scenario analysis for the years 2015 to 2030, we discuss the potential performance of abatement technologies. Marginal costs for the analyzed abatement technologies range from RMB − 357.41/ton CO2 to RMB 927.95/ton CO2. Furthermore, their cumulative mitigation potential relative to the baseline scenario could reach 35 billion tons of CO2 in 2015–2030, with low-carbon power generation technologies and coal power abatement technologies contributing 55% and 45% of the total mitigation, respectively. Our case study of China demonstrates the power generation sector’s great potential to mitigate global emissions, and we suggest nuclear power, hydropower, and the comprehensive retrofitting of coal power as key technology options for the low-carbon transition of the energy system and long-term emissions mitigation strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Lin-Ju Chen & Zhen-Hai Fang & Fei Xie & Hai-Kuo Dong & Yu-Heng Zhou, 2020. "Technology-side carbon abatement cost curves for China’s power generation sector," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 1305-1323, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:masfgc:v:25:y:2020:i:7:d:10.1007_s11027-019-09909-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11027-019-09909-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11027-019-09909-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11027-019-09909-x?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. Wei, Chu & Löschel, Andreas & Liu, Bing, 2015. "Energy-saving and emission-abatement potential of Chinese coal-fired power enterprise: A non-parametric analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 33-43.
    2. Yue, Hui & Worrell, Ernst & Crijns-Graus, Wina, 2018. "Modeling the multiple benefits of electricity savings for emissions reduction on power grid level: A case study of China’s chemical industry," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 1603-1632.
    3. Gnansounou, Edgard & Dong, Jun & Bedniaguine, Denis, 2004. "The strategic technology options for mitigating CO2 emissions in power sector: assessment of Shanghai electricity-generating system," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1-2), pages 117-133, September.
    4. Jeppesen, M. & Brear, M.J. & Chattopadhyay, D. & Manzie, C. & Dargaville, R. & Alpcan, T., 2016. "Least cost, utility scale abatement from Australia's NEM (National Electricity Market). Part 1: Problem formulation and modelling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 606-620.
    5. Lin-Ju Chen & Lei Zhu & Ying Fan & Sheng-Hua Cai, 2013. "Long-Term Impacts of Carbon Tax and Feed-in Tariff Policies on China's Generating Portfolio and Carbon Emissions: A Multi-Agent-Based Analysis," Energy & Environment, , vol. 24(7-8), pages 1271-1293, December.
    6. Diana Silva Siqueira & Josué Meystre & Maicon Queiroz Hilário & Danilo Henrique Donato Rocha & Genésio José Menon & Rogério José Silva, 2019. "Current perspectives on nuclear energy as a global climate change mitigation option," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 749-777, June.
    7. Yu, Xiao & Qu, Hang, 2013. "The role of China's renewable powers against climate change during the 12th Five-Year and until 2020," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 401-409.
    8. Duan, Hong-Bo & Fan, Ying & Zhu, Lei, 2013. "What’s the most cost-effective policy of CO2 targeted reduction: An application of aggregated economic technological model with CCS?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 866-875.
    9. Hasanbeigi, Ali & Menke, Christoph & Therdyothin, Apichit, 2010. "The use of conservation supply curves in energy policy and economic analysis: The case study of Thai cement industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 392-405, January.
    10. Li, Yuan & Zhu, Lei, 2014. "Cost of energy saving and CO2 emissions reduction in China’s iron and steel sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 603-616.
    11. Jhonathan Fernandes Torres Souza & Sergio Almeida Pacca, 2019. "How far can low-carbon energy scenarios reach based on proven technologies?," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 687-705, June.
    12. Pérez de Arce, Miguel & Sauma, Enzo & Contreras, Javier, 2016. "Renewable energy policy performance in reducing CO2 emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 272-280.
    13. Lin, Boqiang & Yang, Lisha, 2013. "The potential estimation and factor analysis of China′s energy conservation on thermal power industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 354-362.
    14. Duan, Hongbo & Zhang, Gupeng & Wang, Shouyang & Fan, Ying, 2019. "Integrated benefit-cost analysis of China's optimal adaptation and targeted mitigation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 76-86.
    15. Worrell, Ernst & Martin, Nathan & Price, Lynn, 2000. "Potentials for energy efficiency improvement in the US cement industry," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 25(12), pages 1189-1214.
    16. Brear, M.J. & Jeppesen, M. & Chattopadhyay, D. & Manzie, C. & Alpcan, T. & Dargaville, R., 2016. "Least cost, utility scale abatement from Australia's NEM (National Electricity Market). Part 2: Scenarios and policy implications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 621-628.
    17. Sands, Ronald D., 2004. "Dynamics of carbon abatement in the Second Generation Model," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 721-738, July.
    18. Wang, Ke & Wang, Shanshan & Liu, Lei & Yue, Hui & Zhang, Ruiqin & Tang, Xiaoyan, 2016. "Environmental co-benefits of energy efficiency improvement in coal-fired power sector: A case study of Henan Province, China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 810-819.
    19. Franco, Alessandro & Diaz, Ana R., 2009. "The future challenges for “clean coal technologies”: Joining efficiency increase and pollutant emission control," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 348-354.
    20. Lin, Boqiang & Wu, Ya & Zhang, Li, 2012. "Electricity saving potential of the power generation industry in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 307-316.
    21. Du, Limin & Hanley, Aoife & Zhang, Ning, 2016. "Environmental technical efficiency, technology gap and shadow price of coal-fuelled power plants in China: A parametric meta-frontier analysis," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 14-32.
    22. Sgouris Sgouridis & Michael Carbajales-Dale & Denes Csala & Matteo Chiesa & Ugo Bardi, 2019. "Comparative net energy analysis of renewable electricity and carbon capture and storage," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 4(6), pages 456-465, June.
    23. Qi, Tianyu & Zhang, Xiliang & Karplus, Valerie J., 2014. "The energy and CO2 emissions impact of renewable energy development in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 60-69.
    24. Goh, Tian & Ang, B.W., 2018. "Quantifying CO2 emission reductions from renewables and nuclear energy – Some paradoxes," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 651-662.
    25. Lee, Chia-Yen & Zhou, Peng, 2015. "Directional shadow price estimation of CO2, SO2 and NOx in the United States coal power industry 1990–2010," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 493-502.
    26. Liddle, Brantley & Sadorsky, Perry, 2017. "How much does increasing non-fossil fuels in electricity generation reduce carbon dioxide emissions?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 212-221.
    27. Liu, Tong & Xu, Gang & Cai, Peng & Tian, Longhu & Huang, Qili, 2011. "Development forecast of renewable energy power generation in China and its influence on the GHG control strategy of the country," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 1284-1292.
    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. Chen, Hao & Kang, Jia-Ning & Liao, Hua & Tang, Bao-Jun & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2017. "Costs and potentials of energy conservation in China's coal-fired power industry: A bottom-up approach considering price uncertainties," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 23-32.
    2. Wang, Ke & Wang, Shanshan & Liu, Lei & Yue, Hui & Zhang, Ruiqin & Tang, Xiaoyan, 2016. "Environmental co-benefits of energy efficiency improvement in coal-fired power sector: A case study of Henan Province, China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 810-819.
    3. Zhou, Kaile & Yang, Shanlin & Shen, Chao & Ding, Shuai & Sun, Chaoping, 2015. "Energy conservation and emission reduction of China’s electric power industry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 10-19.
    4. Li, Wei & Lu, Can & Zhang, Yan-Wu, 2019. "Prospective exploration of future renewable portfolio standard schemes in China via a multi-sector CGE model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 45-56.
    5. Andersson, Elias & Karlsson, Magnus & Thollander, Patrik & Paramonova, Svetlana, 2018. "Energy end-use and efficiency potentials among Swedish industrial small and medium-sized enterprises – A dataset analysis from the national energy audit program," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 165-177.
    6. Rodrigues da Silva, Rafael & Mathias, Flavio Roberto de Carvalho & Bajay, Sergio Valdir, 2018. "Potential energy efficiency improvements for the Brazilian iron and steel industry: Fuel and electricity conservation supply curves for integrated steel mills," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 816-824.
    7. Lin, Boqiang & Zhang, Guoliang, 2013. "Estimates of electricity saving potential in Chinese nonferrous metals industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 558-568.
    8. Golmohamadi, Hessam, 2022. "Demand-side management in industrial sector: A review of heavy industries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    9. Wei, Xiao & Zhang, Ning, 2020. "The shadow prices of CO2 and SO2 for Chinese Coal-fired Power Plants: A partial frontier approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    10. Du, Limin & Lu, Yunguo & Ma, Chunbo, 2022. "Carbon efficiency and abatement cost of China's coal-fired power plants," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    11. Madlool, N.A. & Saidur, R. & Rahim, N.A. & Kamalisarvestani, M., 2013. "An overview of energy savings measures for cement industries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 18-29.
    12. Marshman, Daniel & Brear, Michael & Ring, Brendan, 2022. "Impact of unit commitment and RoCoF constraints on revenue sufficiency in decarbonising wholesale electricity markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    13. Du, Huibin & Li, Qun & Liu, Xi & Peng, Binbin & Southworth, Frank, 2021. "Costs and potentials of reducing CO2 emissions in China's transport sector: Findings from an energy system analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    14. Zhang, Ning & Zhao, Yu & Wang, Na, 2022. "Is China's energy policy effective for power plants? Evidence from the 12th Five-Year Plan energy saving targets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    15. Li, Yuan & Zhu, Lei, 2014. "Cost of energy saving and CO2 emissions reduction in China’s iron and steel sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 603-616.
    16. Zhang, Shaohui & Worrell, Ernst & Crijns-Graus, Wina, 2015. "Evaluating co-benefits of energy efficiency and air pollution abatement in China’s cement industry," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 192-213.
    17. Zhu, Lei & Zhang, Xiao-Bing & Li, Yuan & Wang, Xu & Guo, Jianxin, 2017. "Can an emission trading scheme promote the withdrawal of outdated capacity in energy-intensive sectors? A case study on China's iron and steel industry," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 332-347.
    18. Li, Ming-Jia & Tao, Wen-Quan, 2017. "Review of methodologies and polices for evaluation of energy efficiency in high energy-consuming industry," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 203-215.
    19. Billimoria, Farhad & Adisa, Olumide & Gordon, Robert L., 2018. "The feasibility of cost-effective gas through network interconnectivity: Possibility or pipe dream?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(PB), pages 1370-1379.
    20. Keck, Felix & Lenzen, Manfred & Vassallo, Anthony & Li, Mengyu, 2019. "The impact of battery energy storage for renewable energy power grids in Australia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 647-657.

    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:spr:masfgc:v:25:y:2020:i:7:d:10.1007_s11027-019-09909-x. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.