In estimating emissions reductions brought about by renewables in China, much of existing research assumes that renewables displace coal power. In this paper, this assumption is challenged and the potential environmental effects of photovoltaic (PV) power in North-west China are reevaluated when the marginal generator actually being displaced is taken into account. The annual PV power generation in the North-west Grid is estimated, in this paper, to be as high as 17900 GW·h in 2015, roughly equaling to the output of 1.5 nuclear power plants in the US today. The total associated emission reduction in 2015 will at most be 0.36 percent of SO2 and 0.25 percent of NOx emissions from their 2010 levels in China. Further, PV power may render no emissions reduction at all if it displaces hydropower, which is often used to meet peak demand in the North-west Grid in China. These results imply that a more cost-effective area of focus in the short-term may be on desulfurization and denitrification technologies for coal plants.
. Estimation of environmental effects of photovoltaic generation in North-west China[J]. Frontiers in Energy, 0, (): 535-543.
Mengjia REN, Anastasia SHCHERBAKOVA. Estimation of environmental effects of photovoltaic generation in North-west China. Front Energ, 0, (): 535-543.
Industrial chemical oxygen demand (cod) emissions/Mt
3.55
3.19
-10
Industrial SO2 emissions/Mt
20.73
18.66
-10
Industrial NO2 emissions/Mt
16.37
13.91
-15
Industrial emissions of ammonia nitrogen/Mt
0.29
0.24
-15
The iron and steel industry SO2 emissions/Mt
2.48
1.80
-27
The cement industry NO2 emissions/Mt
1.70
1.50
-12
The papermaking industry chemical oxygen demand (cod) emissions/Mt
0.72
0.65
-10
The papermaking industry emissions of ammonia nitrogen/Mt
0.021
0.019
-10
Agriculture
Agricultural chemical oxygen demand (cod) emissions/Mt
12.04
11.08
-8
Agricultural ammonia nitrogen emissions/Mt
0.83
0.75
-10
Tab.6
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