Industrial Electricity Prices Research Articles

Floating solar power plant planning based on electricity price fluctuations in Towuti, south Sulawesi

A company located in South Sulawesi, intends to mitigate emissions from the Power Plant by constructing an environmentally friendly alternative, namely the Floating Solar Power Plant (FSPP), in Towuti. The development plan involves a feasibility analysis for each configuration of the FSPP, considering technological, economic, and environmental criteria. The selection of the preferred configuration is determined using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method, based on input from experts. According to this method, the chosen configuration is the on-grid non-battery Floating Solar Power Plant, with a Net Present Value of Rp. 1,431,159,245,752, an Internal Rate of Return of 9.46%, a Payback Period of 8.916 years, a Profitability Ind ex of 1.299, a system efficiency of 21.56%, a carbon footprint of 35,003 kg CO2, and an emission reduction of 9,136,808,273 kg CO2. Decision analysis, involving open and abandonment scenarios based on fluctuations in industrial electricity prices, was conducted using Monte Carlo simulation, yielding a volatility value of 31.2%. The real options analysis recommends abandonment in the twentieth year, with a decision success potential of 38%, based on the results.

Design and optimization of the U-shaped well geothermal systems for heat production performance: A case study from Huangling, China

U-shaped well geothermal systems have obvious advantages in deep geothermal development due to the long heat exchange distance and no fluid leakage. Well layout is a primary optimization target to enhance the heat production performance. However, there is a lack of studies for well location selection and installation configuration considering regional groundwater flow. In this study, a coupled thermo-hydro model considering 1D U-shaped well and 3D reservoirs groundwater flow is proposed for the optimization of U-well geothermal systems. The proposed model is calibrated by the field test of U-shaped well in Huangling, China. First, the U-shaped well geothermal system with multiple injection wells is designed. The feasibility is comprehensively evaluated from the aspects of heat production performance and levelized cost of electricity. Subsequently, the influence of groundwater flow on heat production performance is analyzed in detail, including flow velocity, porosity, aquifer thickness and flow direction. Finally, sensitivity studies of thermal conductivity of cement, wellbore diameter, and injection flow rate are investigated to provide reference for production operations. The results show that the heat production performance of the U-shaped well geothermal system with multiple injection wells are significantly better than the single U-shaped well. And the levelized cost of energy can be reduced by 0.0288 $/kWh compared to the average industrial electricity price in China. The groundwater flow velocity remarkably affects the heat production performance. The large aquifer thickness and porosity contribute to the improvement of the heat production performance of the U-shaped well geothermal system. The U-shaped well with injection wells located in the lower reaches of groundwater flow field has better heat production performance. The research results can provide references for design and optimization of the U-shaped well geothermal systems.

Research on Industrial Economic Development and Electricity Price Adjustment Strategy Based on Multi-Agent Game

With the deepening of the electricity market reform and the accelerating transformation of the new power system, the number of new electricity customers in the market with local development characteristics has increased. The local industrial and economic development have been affected by the ability to guide electricity prices. In this paper, using the multi-agent game based on exploring the impact of electricity price on the industrial economy, the specific optimization scheme of electricity price adjustment is proposed with the aim of improving the overall efficiency of the power grid and reducing the cost of electricity for industrial users. After the game, the overall efficiency of the electricity supplier will be increased by about 3.06 percent, and the cost of electricity used by various special industries will be reduced by about 6.86 percent to 4.48 percent. The win-win situation of the electricity suppliers’ income and the featured industries’ development can be achieved by the optimization results. As well as the cost of electricity consumption in featured industries can be reduced, and the comprehensive benefits of electricity suppliers can be improved by using the electricity price adjustment scheme after game interaction, which promotes the rational use of energy and meets the current social requirements for the green and sustainable development of the electricity industry.

Novel propane dehydrogenation process design integrated with membrane reactor and solid oxide fuel cell: Economic and environmental aspects

As environmental pollution worsens, many strategies are emerging to reduce CO2 in various chemical processes. The practical strategy of byproduct hydrogen utilization in propane dehydrogenation is also being reviewed a lot. In this work, a comprehensive analysis was conducted for propane dehydrogenation process design integrated with membrane reactor and solid oxide fuel cell. Especially, membrane reactor and sequential reactor were used to increase the yield of the process. All assessments were investigated based on Aspen Plus®, which is commercial software for process simulation. Levelized cost of electricity was derived through itemized cost estimation. The 2.81 $ kWh-1 of levelized cost of electricity was revealed through itemized cost estimation; it is higher than industrial electricity in general. Therefore, various scenarios were conducted to reduce the levelized cost of electricity compared to industrial electricity price on sale, currently. The optimistic case (1.20 $ kWh-1) can be priced close to industrial electricity price through 100 % of propane recycling rate and − 20 % of reduction in the price of the influential factors. For life cycle assessment, the environmental impact of global warming potential was assessed as 4.93 kg CO2 eq MJ-1 of CO2 emissions. Various scenarios had been proposed to reduce CO2 as with the economic assessment. Under pessimistic, realistic, and optimistic conditions, the results of global warming potential were 5.61, 4.93, and 4.25 kg CO2 eq MJ-1, respectively. The comprehensive analysis will be presented as guidelines for the actual use of byproduct hydrogen.

Expansion and optimization of ammonia import to the Republic of Korea for electricity generation

Ammonia is considered a promising energy source for achieving carbon neutrality because it is carbon-free. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of ammonia-based power generation by conducting techno-economic and carbon footprint analyses of an integrated ammonia decomposition and phosphoric acid fuel cell system. Using a commercial process simulator, the power generation process is designed to reveal an energy efficiency of 46.7% and an upper limit for the ammonia price to compete with industrial electricity prices is identified as 421.3 $ tNH3–1 through economic analysis. Furthermore, the study establishes five different scenarios for ammonia import from the top ten exporting countries to the Republic of Korea (KOR), according to historical data, for optimization. Ammonia import is optimized in terms of exporting countries and quantities to satisfy the ammonia price while minimizing overall emissions using the Monte Carlo method for ammonia production costs and carbon dioxide emissions in each nation. The results show that carbon intensity falls within the range of 0.707–0.736 kgCO2-eq kWh−1, which exceeds the 20-year average value of carbon intensity in KOR if carbon-based ammonia is solely imported. However, the system can be competitive in terms of both economic and environmental aspects if the carbon–neutral ammonia ratio is over 78% (more than Scenario 4). In conclusion, this study statistically investigates the optimization results focusing on major ammonia export countries, identifies the trend of carbon intensity in the scenarios, and provides guidelines for reducing overall carbon intensity by considering the production, transportation, and utilization of ammonia.

Photovoltaic supply chain and government subsidy decision-making based on China's industrial distributed photovoltaic policy: A power perspective

As a clean energy source, photovoltaic (PV) power generation best meets the current demand for energy transformation. In particular, industrial distributed PV projects in China have developed rapidly, forming a mature market trading mechanism, and the Chinese government's subsidy policy has strongly supported their development. However, lucrative government subsidies often lead to PV enterprises not paying attention to technological innovation and blind production. Therefore, to improve the efficiency of government subsidies, enhance the overall performance of the PV supply chain, and achieve the healthy and long-term development of the PV industry. In this paper, we consider the actual demand preference characteristics of users, and construct game models of the PV supply chain under different power structures. We explore the optimal decisions of the PV supply chain enterprises and the formulation of optimal government subsidies under different power structures. The results show that (1) reasonable government subsidies have an incentive effect, which can increase manufacturers' profits, service providers' profits and social welfare level, and improve the demand for PV products. (2) Different power structures significantly affect the government's optimal subsidy, PV system manufacturer (PSM)'s and PV system service provider (PSSP)'s optimal decision-makings, while it does not affect social welfare. (3) Government subsidies are much larger in the Stackelberg case than in the Nash equilibrium case. Government subsidies are positively proportional to PV product market size, user quality preference factor (QPF), user product coverage preference factor (PCPF), industrial unit electricity price, photovoltaic conversion efficiency, and effective generation hours, and inversely proportional to PV product discount sensitivity, production cost, quality innovation cost factor (QICF), and effort performance cost factor (EPCF).

Analysis of factors influencing the electricity (capacity) price growth in the energy market of the Siberian Federal District

One of the main competitive advantages of the Russian Federation in the industrial products world markets is the relatively low prices for electricity sold on the domestic market for the industry sectors. Low electricity prices for energy-intensive industrial sectors, such as ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, mining, oil extraction and refining, etc., allow Russian economy to occupy a dominant position in various areas of world markets, and industries are able to maintain financial stability indicators and finance modernization and technical re-equipment programs. In the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, on the territory of the Siberian United Energy System, which includes consumers of the Siberian Federal District, an increase in prices for electricity supplied to end consumers, primarily industry, was revealed. In March 2022, the increase in electricity prices compared to the same period of the previous year, in the Krasnoyarsk Krai was 18.2 %, in the Republic of Khakassia – 13.1 %. In other regions of Russia over the specified period, the increase in final electricity prices for industry averaged 2.6 %. Thus, the empirical analysis carried out in the article revealed that electricity prices in the regions of the Siberian Federal District actually began to approach the average electricity prices in other federal districts of Russia.

Integration of desalination and energy conversion in a thermo-osmotic system using low-grade heat: Performance analysis and techno-economic evaluation

Freshwater and electricity cogeneration systems, using renewable energy sources, can play a crucial role at the water-energy nexus. By placing a hydrophobic, porous membrane between a hot saline water flow and a pressurized cold freshwater flow, thermal-osmotic energy conversion and thermal-osmotic desalination can be implemented simultaneously. A novel open-loop freshwater and electricity cogeneration system is proposed and evaluated, which consists of a hydrophobic membrane module, a seawater pump, two heat exchangers, and a hydraulic turbine. In the base case designed for a daily freshwater production of 3.9 × 104 m3/day, the net power output is estimated to be 2.15 MWe and the energy efficiency of power generation is 0.24%. Considering the economic benefits brought by the electricity production, the water production cost is 0.36 $/m3 with a global average industrial electricity price of 0.11 $/kWh. Compared with the commercial reverse osmosis desalination technology, the desalination cost of the hybrid system is reduced by over 28%. The parameter analysis is carried out and reveals that optimizing membrane properties and operating conditions can greatly improve the energy efficiency and reduce the water production cost. Improving the liquid entry pressure and permeability coefficient and reducing the thermal conductivity of the membrane are the key to improving the application prospect of the system.

An external-compression air separation unit with energy storage and its thermodynamic and economic analysis

Long-term supply demand balance in a power grid may be maintained by electric energy storage. Liquid air energy storage (LAES) can effectively store off-peak electric energy, and it is extremely helpful for electric decarburisation; however, it also has problems of high cost, long investment payback period and low efficiency because of its very low liquefaction temperature. Air liquefaction is the basic process of air separation, and the total electricity consumption of air separation units in China accounts for about 5.24 % of its national electricity consumption. Moreover, there remains a surplus of production capacity in air separation. This paper proposes an external-compression air separation process, with liquid air energy storage function. It can effectively reduce the power consumption cost of air separation unit while realizing peak load shifting. The system consists of three subsystems, namely, air separation; air liquefaction and storage; and power generation and air recovery. Research on equipment power consumption, economic benefits, and power grid peak shaving effect, indicates that the round-trip efficiency is 54.52 %, the electricity cost saving rate is 5.13 % based on Shanghai's peak-valley industrial electricity price, and the minimum dynamic payback period is 5.5 years. The large-scale application of this process can reduce the average peak-to-valley difference rate in China by 4.95 %. The transfer of peak regulating load to the base load of the power grid can save 5.2 × 106 toe, which will result in a 2.1 × 107 ton reduction in carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Electricity cross-subsidies in China: Social equity, reverse Ramsey pricing, and welfare analysis

The so-called “cross-subsidies” in China’s electricity market have existed for decades, i.e., residential electricity prices are much lower than industrial electricity prices. The claimed rationale of social equity for such a pricing scheme (i.e., to ensure low-income households with basic living standards) was left unsubstantiated. Many argued that China’s government should adopt Ramsey pricing in the electricity industry to achieve efficiency, increasing the residential electricity price beyond the industrial electricity price based on their relative price elasticities. This paper first proposes a theoretical model to explain the reverse Ramsey pricing in the Chinese power sector for social equity reasons. We then calibrate the model with observed industrial data. We find that the reverse Ramsey pricing could be optimal if the residential sector were given a higher weight than the industrial sector; the greater the weight of the residential sector, the lower the residential electricity prices. Based on the calibrated model, we use the actual electricity prices to find the most likely weighting scheme used by the regulator. Using these most likely weights, we further conduct social welfare analyses under different scenarios, providing helpful guidance for policymakers in future electricity market reforms.

Understanding the Economic Responses to China’s Electricity Price-Cutting Policy: Evidence from Zhejiang Province

As a critical pattern to promote industrial growth and recover the economy, China has widely applied an electricity price-cutting policy, especially after the global spread of COVID-19. However, the current insufficient research indicates a noticeable knowledge gap around the actual outcome of this policy measure. This paper, therefore, aimed at filling this gap by focusing on the case of Zhejiang province. Recently, there have been three main kinds of price-cutting policies employed in Zhejiang, decreasing the general industrial electricity price, temporary electricity price-cutting, and targeted price reduction for large industries. Using a computable general equilibrium model that incorporates the Zhejiang electricity system’s operating characteristics, we simulated the economic impact of these electricity price adjustment policies. The results indicate that it was practical to promote the economy by reducing electricity prices, but the specific arrangements of policy have led to differences in economic stimulus consequences. This paper further obtained the multiplier effect in each industry. If electricity price adjustment policies were introduced only for industries with a higher comprehensive multiplier effect, the policy effectiveness would be further optimized.

Evaluation on the Impact of General Industrial and Commercial Electricity Price Reduction: A Case Study of Fujian Province

The reduction of general industrial and commercial prices is an important measure to further improve the business environment and stimulate market vitality. It is of great significance to study the impact of general industrial and commercial electricity price adjustment on the economy for promoting electricity price reform. Based on the policy of adjusting the general industrial and commercial electricity price issued by relevant national departments and provincial governments, this study takes Fujian province as an example and uses the provincial CGE model to analyze the impact of the reduction of the general industrial and commercial electricity price on the macro economy, the output and producer price of various industries, and the electricity consumption. The simulation results show that the reduction of general industrial and commercial electricity prices has a positive impact on the economy. A 25% cut in electricity prices increases GDP by about 0.0935%. The reduction in electricity prices promoted the growth of output and producer prices of most industries. In addition, the reduction of electricity price has a positive effect on the total social electricity consumption, among which the tertiary industry saw the biggest increase in electricity consumption. Based on the simulation results, the policy suggestions are put forward.

EU electricity market integration and cross-country convergence in residential and industrial end-user prices

Despite significant efforts in market integration and regulatory harmonization, large heterogeneities in retail electricity prices across Member States still remain one of the main concerns of the European Union. Here, the cross-country convergence of households and industrial end-user electricity prices in the EU between 2008 and 2021 is investigated. Relying on the notion of club convergence, empirical findings reveal the existence of multiple clubs. The household and non-household market segments exhibit rather different paths in terms of price convergence. Domestic end-user prices show higher dispersion and heterogeneity across national electricity markets than industrial one. Differences across convergence clubs seem to be related with public intervention in the electricity end-user price setting, disparities in the range of household or industrial consumers under regulated end-user prices, and different criteria used among countries in defining energy components. Policy-wise, the club convergence analysis emphasizes the need of stronger cooperation for public intervention and regulation, while considering how end-user price setting can support the decarbonization of the EU electricity systems.

Optimizing dynamics of water-energy-food nexus in a desert climate

This study explores the potential effects of electricity pricing on crop cultivation in Saudi Arabia. The country recently started implementing a domestic energy price reform strategy to make energy consumption more sustainable and increase government revenues as highlighted in the Fiscal Balance Program one of the key realization programs of Vision 2030. Two modeling schemes were developed to complete this analysis. First, a model that applies physical equations to estimate water and energy requirements for 21 crops across 13 provinces. Second, an optimization model that runs iteratively to determine short-run electricity costs, import costs and export revenues. The main finding from the model simulations is that increasing electricity prices will shrink the domestic cultivation and exports of the crops while increasing their imports. For example, as an extreme case, if the agriculture electricity price is raised from $0.048 per kWh to the US industrial electricity price level of $0.692 per kWh, the model optimizes that this will reduce electricity consumption from 33.65 gWh to 7.84 gWh, domestic crop cultivation from 15.1 million tons to 6.3 million tons, and crops' export from 0.062 million tons to 0.057 million tons while will increase crops’ import from 9.5 million tons to 18.3 million tons.

Reservoir stimulation design and evaluation of heat exploitation of a two-horizontal-well enhanced geothermal system (EGS) in the Zhacang geothermal field, Northwest China

A bottom hole temperature of 214 °C at 4700 m shows good potential for the development of an enhanced geothermal system (EGS) in the ZR2 well, Zhacang geothermal field, China. A reservoir stimulation plan has to be established to optimize the use of this target reservoir, with the objectives of increasing heat extraction and ensuring the service life. In this study, we used the lab parameters, ZR2 well logging data, and inverted in-situ stress data to conduct a numerical investigation to optimize reservoir stimulation and develop geothermal extraction strategies for the granodiorite reservoir at depths of 4100–4700 m. The results indicate that gel-proppant hydraulic fracturing and a two-horizontal-well system are feasible for this tight and unconfined reservoir. An installed capacity of 5.57MW–6.80 MW and total power generation of 1695GW·h are expected under the optimal combination of an injection temperature of 7.2 °C, an injection rate of 50 kg/s, and fracture spacing of 50 m during the 30-year operation period. The final production temperature will be maintained at approximately 171.3 °C, and the temperature drop is only 10.7%. The proposed geothermal engineering project will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 0.57–1.98 Mt compared to a fossil fuel plant. The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is estimated at 0.0413 $/kW·h, which is much lower than the industrial electricity price of Qinghai province; thus, this project has significant development potential from an economic perspective.

Optimal configuration of photovoltaic energy storage capacity for large power users

The configuration of user-side energy storage can effectively alleviate the timing mismatch between distributed photovoltaic output and load power demand, and use the industrial user electricity price mechanism to earn revenue from peak shaving and valley filling. The configuration of photovoltaic & energy storage capacity and the charging and discharging strategy of energy storage can affect the economic benefits of users. This paper considers the annual comprehensive cost of the user to install the photovoltaic energy storage system and the user’s daily electricity bill to establish a bi-level optimization model. The outer model optimizes the photovoltaic & energy storage capacity, and the inner model optimizes the operation strategy of the energy storage. And calculate the actual life of the energy storage through the rain flow counting method. Use the fmincon function in the optimization toolbox to solve the problem on the matlab platform. The result of the calculation example verifies the improvement effect of the bi-level optimization model proposed in this paper on user economy.

Hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric system: Economic feasibility analysis in the Atacama Desert, Chile

Desert areas are the favorable geographical locations for desired solar resource and temperature variations for improving the performance of hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric generator (HPV-TEG) systems. Therefore, economic feasibility analysis of HPV-TEG system is carried out under real environment and market conditions for the Atacama Desert, Chile. The thermal, electrical and economic models of HPV-TEG system are developed and analyzed in MATLAB. Five different possible scenarios are considered for economic feasibility based on energy losses, system costs, nominal efficiencies of TEG and photovoltaic module and their contribution in the economic feasibility of HPV-TEG system is identified and payback period for all scenarios is determined at minimum and maximum PV temperatures for Atacama Desert including residential and industrial electricity prices. The results showed that with existing market costs and TEG efficiency, HPV-TEG system could not be economically competitive with photovoltaic system for environmental conditions of the Atacama Desert. However, the calculated levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of the HPV-TEG system is 0.071 USD/kWh which is relatively close to current LCOEs for PV systems in Chilean energy market. Further, LCOE analysis economically quantifies the advantages of HPV-TEG system over PV system and opens the possibility for HPV-TEG systems to be competitive in desert locations.

Evaluating the Market Potential of Concentrated Solar Thermal Technology for Different Applications in the MENA Region

Abstract Missing financial and regulatory frameworks lead to low development and stagnating costs of concentrated solar thermal technology. Nevertheless, in locations with high direct normal irradiance (DNI) such as the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region, the technology could become competitive, being promised a learning rate of 10–20%, and boost local economies. This study aims to identify potential business cases and evaluate the increased technology's investment likelihood in the region, focusing on Egypt. A thorough market assessment on the structure, regulatory framework, demand, and potential revenues was conducted for the power and process heating sector. A SWOT analysis was performed considering the local context and competing technologies. Egypt was shown to offer local manufacturing potential, regulatory framework, and renewable energy (RE) strategies, facilitating the technology's deployment. Moreover, the market is already open for private investment and selected international funds are directed toward CSP development. High initial technology cost, subsidized fuel and electricity prices for industry, alongside lack of long-term financial incentives and awareness of potential long-term benefits for the economy were identified as the most significant threats. High solar heat demand for industrial processes and large potential for concentrated solar heat (CSH) application were identified. Yet, the market is decentralized and the processes are very diverse, moreover retrofitting may pose risks alongside the high upfront investment and additional land costs, which makes concentrated solar heat applications less attractive for the Egyptian industrial sector. Hence, for concentrated solar technology deployment, financial incentives and a regulatory framework specifically directed toward the technology would be necessary.

Energy and the viability of downstream integration: Cross-country evidence from the copper industry

Resource-rich developing countries have been increasingly pursuing downstream value addition to maximize the economic and political benefits of their mineral sectors. In light of policy initiatives to integrate mining with downstream industries, we examine the role of energy as a key factor in the viability of mineral processing. Using a cross-country panel dataset describing copper ore and refined copper production in 73 countries over 26 years (1990-2015), we estimate the impact of (i) industrial electricity prices, (ii) electricity generation and (iii) the time and cost to obtain an electricity connection on the size of local downstream activity. We also estimate the impact of these factors on a measure of downstream integration, defined as the share of refined copper in ore and concentrate sourced domestically, imported or recycled from scrap. We find that countries with greater levels of gross electricity production tend to produce higher levels of refined copper output. Downstream activity is also higher in countries where firms pay lower end-use prices of electricity. Among countries that produce ore, lower industrial electricity prices are associated with greater downstream integration.

Research on the Elastic Space of Transmission Price of West-to-East Power Transmission Project

Introduction Under the background of electric reform， the pricing mechanism of transmission price for special projects across provinces has been clarified. Under the overall requirement of lowering the general industrial and commercial electricity price in the country， the transmission price of Power Transmission from West to East Project of China Southern Power Grid Company Limited experienced two downward adjustments in 2018－2019. Clarifying the price flexibility space of the Power Transmission from West to East Project has become the focus of attention of the government and transmission companies. Method Based on the pricing experience of domestic and international transregional transmission prices， this paper combines the asset allocation method， the operating period electricity price method， the permitted cost + income and other methods， measuring and comparing the cost of electricity， the accounting price of the pricing plan and the government's issued electricity price of the Power Transmission Project from West to East. Results Through the research and calculation of transmission price， the pricing mechanism and flexible space of the Power Transmission Project from West to East has been fully understood. Conclusion Based on the actual engineering empirical analysis， it is proved that the calculation method is reasonable and effective， which can provide a basis for the government to reasonably formulate the transmission price and the investment decision of the transmission company.