Forecasting sustainable power generation profiles to achieve net zero emissions using multi-objective techno-ecological framework: A study in the context of India

Abstract

Climate change is becoming the most pronounced issue worldwide, with its origins dating back to the time of industrialization. It has now become imperative to take remedial steps to mitigate its harmful effects throughout the globe. In today's era, climate change is expected to worsen due to air emissions from power generation systems as they primarily depend on coal and fossil fuels. Moreover, as the global population increases, the demand for electricity will rise, further exacerbating the problem. Given this situation, populous nations like India and China are seen as key players in achieving net-zero emissions worldwide by transitioning to sustainable power generation. This study presents a multi-objective optimization method to meet the future electricity demand while ensuring net-zero emissions by mitigating pollution through a techno-ecological synergy (TES). In turn, this study incorporates the ecosystem as a process system, unlike the conventional decision-making methods that ignore the ecosystem's ability to mitigate pollution. As a case study, Delhi, the capital of India, which is known as one of the world's most polluted cities, is selected to showcase the proposed methodology. The study proposes various scenarios for sustainable power generation for Delhi to achieve net-zero emissions. The findings reveal that solar energy could be a viable alternative to conventional fossil fuels to meet Delhi's energy demand by 2050. This is achievable by implementing an energy transition plan that involves the aggressive phasing out of the coal power plant, which aligns with the urgent requirement to reduce emissions.