Key low-carbon factors in the evolution of power decarbonisation and their impacts on generation expansion planning

It's a great challenge to reduce CO₂ emission effectively while not affecting the prospects for continuous and rapid growth of the power sector. Converting the traditional fossil fuel-based power generation mix to a low-carbon structure will play an important role in the process of power decarbonisation in the near future. Developing low-carbon technologies, providing economical stimulants and setting compulsory reduction targets are main options to mitigate CO₂ emission, which will make a significant impact on the principles and methods of traditional power generation planning. With such an understanding, key technologies of introducing low-carbon options into the modeling of power generation planning are studied, and a new mode of power generation planning based on low-carbon target is presented. A case study is made to analyze the perspectives and features of CO₂ emission in the power sector of China in different scenarios, with the reduction potential of various low-carbon options assessed at the same time. The results of this paper could be a helpful reference for cutting CO₂ emission. This work is supported by State Grid Corporation of China.