Systems Approach To Emissions Reduction from a Power System in India

Abstract

Abstract Emissions reduction from a power system in India is traditionally considered in terms of installation of expensive abatement equipment. This paper describes a systems approach to achieve emission reduction targets for different pollutants in a least-cost manner that considers a wide range of options viz. adjustment within the system through integrated operations of the system and alternative mines-power station coal-supply linkages, coal imports, switching to cleaner modes of generation (from coal to gas), and installation of abatement equipment. A linear programming modeling framework is developed for the three electricity regions of India (western, southern, and northern) for different emission reduction levels for the four pollutants CO2, SO2, NOx, and fly ash. The model considers the detailed coal mines-to-power plant linkages, the coal import for the coastal coal-based plants, details of all major interstate and inter-regional transmission lines, and the generating unit characteristics. It is found that installing abatement equipment is an attractive option for reducing fly ash and NOx, that an additional gas-generation capacity is needed to reduce SO2 along with abatement, and that the share of gas generation increases drastically when a CO2 reduction constraint is incorporated.