Emission Reduction Cost Research Articles

Study on Promoting Clean Energy Vehicles in the Urban Transport of China

The application of clean energy vehicles in urban transport affects not only the operational performance of the bus system but also the technology development for mobile industry, the energy consumption and emission level and the facility over its lifetime. With the survey data from 4cities in China (Jinan, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu), this article clarifies the policy environment and technology status, makes a policy assessment for the policies on promoting clean vehicles in China, analyzes the effectiveness of emission reduction cost and benefits, and proposes policy recommendations for promoting clean energy vehicles in place of the conventional vehicles in Chinese cities.

Uncertainty, cost-effectiveness and environmental safety of robust carbon trading: integrated approach

Carbon markets, like other commodity markets, are volatile. They react to stochastic “disequilibrium” spot prices, which may be affected by inadequate policies, speculations and bubbles. The market-based emission trading, therefore, does not necessarily minimize abatement costs and achieve emission reduction goals. We introduce a basic stochastic model integrating emissions reduction, monitoring and trading costs allowing us to analyze the robustness of emission and uncertainty reduction policies under environmental safety constraints asymmetric information and other multiple anthropogenic and natural uncertainties. Explicit treatment of uncertainties provides incentives for reducing them before trading. We illustrate functioning of the robust market with numerical results involving such countries as the US, Australia, Canada, Japan, EU27, Russia, Ukraine. In particular, we analyze if the knowledge about uncertainties may affect portfolios of technological and trade policies or structure of the market and how uncertainty characteristics may affect market prices and change the market structure.

Abatement cost analysis in CO2 emission reduction costs regarding the supply-side policies for the Taiwan power sector

Because Taiwan is an island nation, it is difficult to obtain energy from external power suppliers; therefore, advance planning and scheduling of power development is crucial. This study uses a multi-objective planning method to minimize the cost of power generation and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by decreasing the dual objective of building the power supply scheduling model and the target year. This is conducted according to simulations of future carbon emission reduction policies for the scheduling of power supply situations. The results show that nuclear units will be able to reduce the power generation electricity costs and carbon dioxide emissions effectively; renewable energy has excellent potential to reduce emissions, and the cost of solar power technology with high fossil fuel prices will gradually enhance its cost competitiveness. Gas, although the cleanest fossil fuel, cannot be underestimated for its carbon dioxide emissions. As fossil fuel prices increase, gas will gradually experience a reduction in carbon reduction benefits; integrated gasification combined cycle with carbon capture and storage technology will replace part of the oil and gas power generation, and in addition to the reduction of carbon dioxide and costs, will achieve the goal.

Implications of emissions timing on the cost‐effectiveness of greenhouse gas mitigation strategies: application to forest bioenergy systems

AbstractConventional cost‐effectiveness calculations ignore the implications of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions timing and thus may not properly inform decision‐makers in the efficient allocation of resources to mitigate climate change. To begin to address this disconnect with climate change science, we modify the conventional cost‐effectiveness approach to account for emissions timing. GHG emissions flows occurring over time are translated into an ‘Equivalent Present Emission’ based on radiative forcing, enabling a comparison of system costs and emissions on a consistent present time basis. We apply this ‘Present Cost‐Effectiveness’ method to case studies of biomass‐based electricity generation (biomass co‐firing with coal, biomass cogeneration) to evaluate implications of forest carbon trade‐offs on the cost‐effectiveness of emission reductions. Bioenergy production from forest biomass can reduce forest carbon stocks, an immediate emissions source that contributes to atmospheric greenhouse gases. Forest carbon impacts thereby lessen emission reductions in the near‐term relative to the assumption of biomass ‘carbon neutrality’, resulting in higher costs of emission reductions when emissions timing is considered. In contrast, conventional cost‐effectiveness approaches implicitly evaluate strategies over an infinite analytical time horizon, underestimating nearer term emissions reduction costs and failing to identify pathways that can most efficiently contribute to climate change mitigation objectives over shorter time spans (e.g. up to 100 years). While providing only a simple representation of the climate change implications of emissions timing, the Present Cost‐Effectiveness method provides a straightforward approach to assessing the cost‐effectiveness of emission reductions associated with any climate change mitigation strategy where future GHG reductions require significant initial capital investment or increase near‐term emissions. Timing is a critical factor in determining the attractiveness of any investment; accounting for emissions timing can better inform decisions related to the merit of alternative resource uses to meet near‐, mid‐, and long‐term climate change mitigation objectives.

Application of Interval-Fuzzy Linear Programming for Total Amount Control Optimization Model on Regional Atmospheric Pollutants

Aiming at the harsh environmental situation at present, this paper applied the interval fuzzy linear programming method, and combines environmental management policy about the total control of regional atmospheric pollution, to set up an optimization model for total amount control of regional atmospheric pollutants under uncertainty. Through the model results, the total cost of reduction in instance case was [119.98, 125.82] (108yuan), and the membership of SO2and NOXpredicted through the model were [31.00, 32.64] and [23.62, 25.94] (104tons), respectively. This model could get the minimum total cost of emission reduction, and be used as the technique and theory guider for the total amount control of atmospheric pollutants.

The Potential and Cost Analysis of Emission Reduction in China’s Cement Sector

The cement sector emission occupies 5% of world emissions caused by human activities. Especially, China’s cement production accounted for 50% of the world’s output, which ranked the first for continuous 25 years. The total production in 2010 was 1.882 billion tons. The cement sector, which is characterized of high yield, small-scale enterprises, low technology development level and poor product structure, is one of the biggest energy consumers and emitters in China. Therefore, the energy saving and emission reduction in cement sector is not only the essential measure and basic content for coping with climate change, but also the guarantee for the sustainable development. Plenty of basic research, including spot investigation and data collection, was carried out in this paper. After the identification of 18 different kinds of energy saving technologies and emission reductions, a baseline as daily 5000 tons of a production line was set in this paper. The emission reduction potential and cost are quantitatively analyzed by estimating the marginal abatement costs. Hence, the marginal abatement cost curve of energy saving and emission reduction technology was obtained. With the abatement costs ranking from low to high, the key emission reduction technology can be concluded as energy efficiency, energy alternatives, blended cement and CCS technology. According to the status of domestic energy-saving technology as well as support policies, we finally proposed relevant measures and policy suggestions.

Environmental and economic evaluations of centralized biogas plants running on cow manure in Hokkaido, Japan

The introduction of biogas plants (BGPs) is a promising measure to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Hokkaido, Japan. This study estimated the price of renewable electricity and cost of GHG emissions reduction by introducing centralized BGPs in 139 municipalities in Hokkaido. The locations of centralized BGPs were analyzed by using a Geographical Information System (GIS), and the initial and annual costs, amount of power generated, and GHG emissions reduction were calculated. The estimated initial and annual costs were 8162 and 1089 M$ (1 USD = 80 JPY), respectively, for 330 centralized BGPs. These BGPs were estimated to generate between 150 and 390 GWh of surplus power, and between 490 and 730 GWh of total generated power. The surplus power was equal to the energy needed to power approximately 34,000 to 86,000 households (around 1.3%–3.3% of total Hokkaido households in 2007). The GHG emissions reduction was estimated to range from 1.07 to 1.2 Mt of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent per year (about 1.5%–1.7% of total GHG emissions in Hokkaido). A reduction of 1 tonne of CO2 equivalent costs at least 245 $ when considering revenue from selling tradable green certificates for surplus power. The price of renewable electricity must be at least 1900 $ MW h−1 for centralized BGPs to be feasible in more than half the municipalities. The current purchase price of renewable electricity is too low to operate centralized BGPs in Hokkaido.

Estimating the economic cost of emission reduction in Chinese vehicle industry based on multi-objective programing

By enforcing emission reduction policies, the economic effects on different industry are quite diverse. Scientific estimation for this kind of effect has important realistic meaning for the industry development. A multi-objective programing approach integrated with input–output analysis model is used in this paper to evaluate the impact of emission reduction policy on the cost of reducing gas emissions and undertaking industrial adjustment in Chinese vehicle industry. The empirical results show that gas emission control has positive influence on vehicle industry production value. But, this influence is lower than the average macro-economic cost of CO2 emission in China. These policy implications on vehicle industry are less serious than other high emission industries and, at the same time, the enforcement of reduction policy is a chance for new energy vehicle development.

Joint environmental and economic power dispatch considering wind power integration: Empirical analysis from Liaoning Province of China

Liaoning province, located in Northeast China – one of China's three most wind-rich areas, possesses abundant wind resources. Along with China's rapid development of wind power in recent years, the issue of how to integrate more wind power to the grid, and how to balance the conflict between pollutant and GHG emission reduction and economic cost increase by dispatch model adjustment becomes a big challenge. Based on the GAMS simulation method, by using the real data of thermal power units, wind power and hydropower generation, and load in Liaoning province, this paper studies a joint environmental and economic power dispatch considering wind power integration at valley load and peak load. The results show that the pumped storage power station played an important role in promoting wind power integration. And the power dispatch across thermal power, wind power and hydropower is more favorable than the power dispatch only across thermal power and wind power in terms of reducing pollutant and GHG emission. It is also proved that a comparatively better environmental improvement can be made at a relatively lower economic loss by a joint environmental and economic dispatch across thermal, wind and hydropower.

Reducing Pollution Levels by the OECD Countries: Who Should Bear the Brunt?

We apply Shephard’s dual lemma and the concept of multi-output distance function to the estimation of marginal abatement costs of CO2 emissions reduction in the developing part of the East Asian and Pacific region, also including Korea and Japan. We find that abatement costs are the highest for Japan, while they are the cheapest for the small island states and Mongolia. While the social planner would allocate the task of reducing the regional emissions levels by 30% (stipulated by the Copenhagen accord) to countries with the lowest marginal abatement costs, this approach will require complete elimination of industrial sector in most of the region’s countries. We therefore suggest a more realistic scenario that involves placing a cap on the maximum amount of reduction by each individual country. In the long run, we argue that command and control policies of setting reduction targets will be less effective compared to the ones aimed at the reduction of marginal abatement costs.

Integration of biogas plants in the building materials industry

The paper quantifies the synergy-effects of an areal combination of biogas-plants with plants of the building materials industry (e.g. cement works) from the energetic and economical point of view. Therefore an overall process model based on energy and mass flow balances is developed to determine the effects of a combination of both plants in terms of energetic efficiency, investment and operating costs, greenhouse gas emission reduction and overall energy production costs. The results and the calculation procedure for a combination of biogas plants with cement works are presented in detail. The main benefits of this combination are the utilisation of low temperature excess heat sources from cement works for fermenter heating and the direct thermal utilisation of unprocessed biogas as a valuable, CO2-neutral fuel for combustion processes for instance clinker burning. Due to the combination, the energetic efficiency of the biogas plant, defined as utilisable energy output in relation to the energy content of the produced biogas, significantly increases from 63.0% to 83.8%. Concurrently the energy production costs are reduced, turning biogas into a competitive source of energy without the need for federal sponsorship. Calculations show, that production costs in combined plants for plant sizes larger than 90 m³STP/h biogas are even lower than the actual market prize of natural gas.

Oxidation of methane from manure storages in soils

Dutch methane emissions from manure treatment and storage are estimated to be 115 Gg CH4, which is about 1.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions. A possible option to reduce methane emissions from manure storages is to feed emissions into the soil next to the storage, where it is oxidized by methanotrophic bacteria, comparable to the way methane is oxidized in top-layers of landfills. A feasibility study is performed to evaluate the technical and economic viability of the method. An annual average methane oxidizing capacity of about 2–3 g m−2 h−1 seems to be feasible in sandy or loamy soils, without major modifications. A single manure storage will require a few 100 m2 of soil to abate 70% or more of its methane. The system seems to be economically feasible and cost-effective. Additional investments are less than 5% of the total costs of a manure storage. Costs for emission reduction are € 1 to 4 per Mg CO2-eq. Proof of concept was no part of this feasibility study. The technology described is only expected and not demonstrated to work.

An Interval Optimization Model of Regional Pollutant Total Amount Control Based on a SEM Total Control Evaluation Index System

Facing serious environmental forms and combining structure, engineering and management emissions reduction (SEM), this paper had drew up a SEM total control evaluation index system, and built an interval optimization model of regional pollution total amount control which minimized the emission reduction costs. Through the application of model case, the interval optimal model had obtained a reasonable scheme. The minimum total costs of emission reduction was [461.51, 531.19] (108 yuan), decreasing -1.75%~11.59% comparing with the recommended scheme (522.03, 108 yuan), while the maximum emissions reduction of COD, NH3-N, SO2 and NOX were [42.58, 48.32], [6.92, 7.80], [30.72, 34.96], and [23.21, 26.78] (104 tons). The interval optimal result provides policymakers an excellent decision, expands the range of macro-decisions and controls countermeasures for pollutant total amount control program.

Application of Total Amount Control Optimization Model on Regional Atmospheric Pollutants Based on the Total Amount Control Evaluation Index System (The Evaluation Indicator Layer)

According to the indicator layer of the total amount control evaluation index system, this paper applied the management policy about the total control of regional atmospheric pollution to set up an optimization model for total amount control of regional atmospheric pollutants and get the minimum total cost of emission reduction. Through the model results, the total cost of reduction in instance case was 124.61 (108 yuan), and the membership of SO2 and NOX predicted through the model were 32.34 and 24.13 (104 tons), respectively. This model could be used as the technique and theory guider for the total amount control of atmospheric pollutants, to achieve the goals of the "12th Five-Year Plan" environmental protection requirement more effectively.

Renewables vs. energy efficiency: The cost of carbon emissions reduction in Spain

While support instruments have succeeded to largely deploy renewables during the 1996–2008 period, little attention has been paid to energy efficiency measures, resulting in a high energy intensity and large growth of energy demand. Energy-related CO2 emissions have increased significantly. At the same time, important investments in combined cycle gas turbines have taken place. This paper analyses whether, from a cost minimization viewpoint, renewable support has been the best policy for reducing emissions, when compared to the promotion of energy efficiency in sectors such as transportation or buildings. We use a model of the Spanish energy sector to examine its evolution in the time period considered under different policies. It is a bottom-up, static, partial equilibrium, linear programming model of the complete Spanish energy system. We conclude that demand side management (DSM) clearly dominates renewable energy (RE) support if the reduction of emissions at minimum cost is the only concern. We also quantify the savings that could have been achieved: a total of €5 billion per year, mainly in RE subsidies and in smaller costs of meeting the reduced demand (net of DSM implementation cost).

Life cycle assessment of hydrogen production from biomass gasification systems

In this study, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of biomass-based hydrogen production is performed for a period from biomass production to the use of the produced hydrogen in Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell vehicles. The system considered is divided into three subsections as pre-treatment of biomass, hydrogen production plant and usage of hydrogen produced. Two different gasification systems, a Downdraft Gasifier (DG) and a Circulating Fluidized Bed Gasifier (CFBG), are considered and analyzed for hydrogen production using actual data taken from the literature. Fossil energy consumption rate and Green House Gas Emissions (GHG) are defined and indicated first. Next, the LCA results of DG and CFBG systems are compared for 1 MJ/s hydrogen production to compare with each other as well as with other hydrogen production systems. While the fossil energy consumption rate and emissions are calculated as 0.088 MJ/s and 6.27 CO2 eqv. g/s in the DG system, they are 0.175 MJ/s and 17.13 CO2 eqv. g/s in the CFBG system, respectively. The Coefficient of Hydrogen Production Performance (CHPP) (newly defined as a ratio of energy content of hydrogen produced from the system to the total energy content of fossil fuels used) of the CFBG and DG systems are then determined to be 5.71 and 11.36, respectively. Thus, the effects of some parameters, such as energy efficiency, ratio of cost of hydrogen, on natural gas and capital investments efficiency are investigated. Finally, the costs of GHG emissions reduction are calculated to be 0.0172 and 0.24 $/g for the DG and CFBG systems, respectively.

Comparison of marginal abatement cost curves for 2020 and 2030: longer perspectives for effective global GHG emission reductions

This study focuses on analyses of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, from the perspective of interrelationships among time points and countries, in order to seek effective reductions. We assessed GHG emission reduction potentials and costs in 2020 and 2030 by country and sector, using a GHG emission reduction-assessment model of high resolution regarding region and technology, and of high consistency with intertemporal, interregional, and intersectoral relationships. Global GHG emission reduction potentials relative to baseline emissions in 2020 are 8.4, 14.7, and 18.9 GtCO2eq. at costs below 20, 50, and 100 $/tCO2eq., corresponding to +19, −2, and −7 %, respectively, relative to 2005. The emission reduction potential for 2030 is greater than that for 2020, mainly because many energy supply and energy-intensive technologies have long lifetimes and more of the current key facilities will be extant in 2020 than in 2030. The emission reduction potentials in 2030 are 12.6, 22.0, and 26.6 GtCO2eq. at costs below 20, 50, and 100 $/tCO2eq., corresponding to +33, +8, and −3 %, respectively, relative to 2005. Global emission reduction potentials at a cost below 50 $/tCO2eq. for nuclear power and carbon capture and storage are 2.3 and 2.2 GtCO2eq., respectively, relative to baseline emissions in 2030. Longer-term perspectives on GHG emission reductions toward 2030 will yield more cost-effective reduction scenarios for 2020 as well.

Greener homes: an ex-post estimate of the cost of carbon dioxide emission reduction using administrative micro-data from the Republic of Ireland

We assess the subsidy for the installation of biomass boilers and wood gasification boilers under the Greener Homes Scheme in Ireland. We find that the (implicit) subsidy per tonne of carbon dioxide avoided varies hugely across households. The current policy costs 17 % too much for the emissions avoided, or avoids 17 % too little for the money spent. The subsidy reduces net social gain (including environmental benefits but excluding producer surplus) by 42 %.

GREENHOUSE GAS MITIGATION STRATEGIES FOR CONTAINER SHIPPING INDUSTRY

With the onset of the first ever Greenhouse Gas (GHG) regulation for ships by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in 2011, the container shipping industry requires the combined use of technical and operational emissions reduction measures to improve the environmental performance of its vessels. Studies show that most existing measures are cost effective with a range of emissions reduction potential. However, the level of implementation is not depicted and the potential of the measures may be over-estimated. An evaluation of the emissions reduction measures is conducted through the examination of 3 factors, namely level of implementation, emissions reduction potential and cost effectiveness. Strategies to overcome the critical barriers of implementation are suggested in this study. Lastly, recommendations for companies with regards to GHG issues are made. The strong link between cost effectiveness and level of implementation is highlighted in this study. It is also shown that there is immense potential to reduce emissions from ships given the availability of measures with significant reduction potential. However, the top barriers of implementation, namely cost of measure and lack of information, need to be addressed for a higher level of adoption. This report serves as the first step to map strategy for managing GHG in the shipping industry. The importance of cost effectiveness in decision making from a ship operators perspective prompts the adoption of measures that are the most cost effective first before measures with high emissions reduction potential. It is prudent for shipping companies to adopt a more environmentally friendly operation as green is the way forward in the shipping industry.

Using a system dynamics model to assess the effects of capital subsidies and feed-in tariffs on solar PV installations

To achieve national CO2 emission reduction targets, the Taiwanese government is planning to adopt policies, such as feed-in tariffs (FITs) and capital subsidies, in order to attract the public as well as companies to invest in and use solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. However, a huge budget is necessary for the government to implement such policies. Therefore, it is important that it fully recognizes which policy, or combination of policies, promoting solar PV applications has the greatest economic benefit. This study uses the system dynamics approach to develop a simulation for assessing these promotion policies. Using this simulation system, policymakers can carry out cost/benefit analyses for different combinations of promotion policies, CO2 emission reduction goals, and budget limitations. In addition, the simulation scenarios include different FIT prices, subsidies, and upper limits of annual ROI (return of investment). The simulation period is from 2011 to 2030. We find that when adopting only FITs or capital subsidies with a fixed upper limit of ROI, increasing the FIT price or subsidy is a good approach. When the upper limit of ROI is fixed, the effect of different combinations of FIT prices and subsidies on the accumulation of solar PV applications is insignificant. Nevertheless, the promotion policy with the higher subsidy and lower initial FIT price has a lower average cost of CO2 emission reduction.