Abstract
Coal-fired power generation in China is facing huge challenges due to its high share in the total electricity generation and its environmental problems. A solar-aided coal-fired power generation (SACPG) system, based on the integration of solar thermal energy into a conventional coal-fired power system, is an effective way to utilize solar energy and reduce coal consumption. The reasonable allocation of output electricity to solar energy and coal in a SACPG system and the evaluation of its CO2 emission reductions can help to acquire subsidies or financial support granted to renewable electricity and CO2 emission reductions. A methodology is proposed from the view of the technical characteristics of a SACPG system and the government regulation. The coal-to-electricity efficiency of the baseline unit or the coal-fired power system in a SACPG system is the key factor in the methodology, and it can be calculated on the basis of the norm of energy consumption of coal-fired power units in China. Then, the allocation of the output electricity to solar energy and coal can be calculated, and so can the CO2 emission reductions by the solar-coal hybrid system. Taking a 600 MW SACPG system as an example, the methodology is further illustrated. The methodology can guarantee that the calculation of output electricity allocation in a SACPG system and the calculation of its CO2 emission reductions are accurate, conservative and transparent for its subsidies or financial support.
Highlights
Coal-fired power generation will be the backbone of China’s power sector for the foreseeable future [1]
In accordance with the capacity of the solar-aided coal-fired power generation (SACPG) system and its parameters, the basic standard coal consumption rate by the baseline unit can be selected from Table A1, and the standard coal consumption rate by the baseline unit can be calculated by Equation (14)
A SACPG system can use solar thermal energy and reduce coal consumption and CO2 emissions, and it may be a promising generation technology. It can be built from a coal-fired power unit with solar energy integration
Summary
Coal-fired power generation will be the backbone of China’s power sector for the foreseeable future [1]. To gain fair access to subsidies granted to renewable electricity, several methods to allocate fractions of output electricity to different resources in a hybrid fossil-renewable power system were compared without the involvement of details of hybrid system integration technology [19] These technical characteristics are important for the incentive policy-making to promote the integration of solar thermal energy into a coal-fired power unit. A methodology of the output electricity allocation in a SACPG system and its CO2 emission reduction assessment can both simplify the relevant calculation and guarantee that the results are transparent, conservative and accurate, and can provide incentives to improve the integration of solar thermal energy and the energy efficiency of the coal-fired power system in the hybrid system. The key issues for allocating the output electricity to solar energy and coal and assessing CO2 emission reductions in a SACPG system should focus on its operational complexity and system boundary, and on the baseline scenario for its construction and operation
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