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Abstract
This paper describes the development of Chinas power industry, present situation, environmental inuences and potential
benets of regional power grid interconnections in China. Power plants in China are mainly thermal, burning fossil fuels especially
coal which emit a great deal of pollutants and greenhouse gases such as SO2, NOx and CO2. China leads all other countries in
emissions of SO2, CO2, and the power industry is the largest contributor to these emissions. There are a number of environmental
benets through regional power grid interconnection. That is, the construction of small electricity generation capacity would be
avoided; natural resources would be used to generate electricity on a regional scale; and generating sources can be separated from
centers of electricity use, which will decrease emission of pollutants and greenhouse gases and help to reduce human exposure to
elevated air pollutant concentrations. Therefore, gradually enlarged power grids, and power grid interconnection, should be part of
the general pattern of power system development in China.
r 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
are projected to average 7.2% or so till 2020. Under this nets and independent provincial nets, are presently
projection, Chinas GDP in 2020 will be increased to being considered and implemented. Four directional
35,000 billion RMB (Chinese currency). In order to meet (east, west, south and north) interconnections and
this economic growth target, it is necessary for Chinas circumjacent interconnections among nets are being
electric power industry to maintain its recent rapid rate constructed in order to allow power from West China to
of development. Total nationwide electricity consump- ow to the major consuming areas in the East, to allow
tion in 2010 is projected to rise to about 2700 billion power to be shared between North and South China
kWh, with generating capacity increasing to about during times when available capacity in one region
600 GW. It is estimated that total annual electricity coincides with high demand in the other, and to allow
demand in 2020 will have grown to about 4000 billion power from the central Three Gorges Hydropower
kWh, with total national generating capacity reaching project to be distributed in all four directions. By the
about 900 GW. On average, 30 GW of generating year 2005, power grid interconnection for all of China
capacity will need to be added each year till 2020 to except Xinjiang, Tibet, Hainan and Taiwan will be
reach these capacity goals (Hu, 2003). This rate of preliminarily complete (State Power Corporation of
addition is approximately twice the rate of recent China, 2002).
capacity expansion, and is thus a great challenge for Even though power grid interconnections in
the Chinese power sector. China become nationwide, electricity will still
Interconnections between large regional power grids mainly come from coal-red power plants, which
in China, as well as interconnection between regional produce more pollutants and greenhouse gases than
most other sources. But if international power grid
interconnections can be established in Northeast Asia,
the use of natural resources could be optimized for
electricity generation over a larger geographical area.
This useful environmental option is discussed below in
Section 3.2.
40000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
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91
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19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
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19
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Table 1
The status of electricity supply and demand by province in China, 2003
Region Provinces where demand exceeds Provinces where demand and Provinces in which supply
supply (15) supply are roughly in balance (8) somewhat exceeds demand (10)
North China Shanxi, Southern part of Hebei, Beijing, Tianjing, North part of
Western part of In-Mongolia Hebei, Shandong
Northeast Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, East
part of In-Mongolia
Northwest Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia Xinjiang Shanxi
Central China Henan, Chongqing, Sichuan Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi
South China Guangdong, Guizhou, Yunnan Guangxi, Hainan
Eastern China Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai Anhui, Fujian
Others Tibet
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F. Zhu et al. / Energy Policy 33 (2005) 17971805 1799
2. Environmental impacts of Chinas power industry plants to minimum levels, but these technologies are
generally not widely used in China today. So far,
2.1. Environmental impacts power generation Chinas power generation equipment cannot use coal
without excessive CO2 production. If coal technology
Power demand all over the world currently relies improves such that CO2 emissions can practically and
primarily on fossil fuel combustion (thermal power), economically be minimized, or CO2 from coal-red
only secondarily on hydro and nuclear sources. The generation can be collected and adequately disposed,
amount of electricity generated from wind, solar, tidal prospects for future development of coal-red power
and geothermal energy accounts for a very small would be improved.
percentage of the current global total. There is no doubt Nuclear power plants do not emit many air pollu-
that large-scale power generation inevitably causes tants, but their operation results in the production of
environmental impacts at varying levels of severity. long-lived radioactive wastes, and pose safety problems.
Table 2 shows a subjective environmental ranking of If the radioactive waste storage problem in China (or
various power-generation technologies. Power genera- regionally) is solved, and if in addition inherently safe
tion from solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy and reactor designs are achieved, uranium mining impacts
biomass is renewable and sustainable. The environmen- are reduced, nuclear weapons proliferation issues are
tal impacts of these generation technologies are rela- fully addressed, and shipment of radioactive materials
tively light. Hydroelectric generation is or should be becomes safe, prospects for future deployment of
renewable as it burns no fuel and is powered by solar nuclear power generation would be improved (Good-
energy via the hydrologic cycle, but prevention of land, 1996).
sedimentation in hydroelectric reservoirs is essential if
generation capacity is to be maintained. Reservoirs in 2.2. Environmental impacts caused by Chinas thermal
which the areas ooded contain considerable biomass power plants
(e.g., forests or peat), however, they can lead to
signicant greenhouse gas emissions in the form of As mentioned above, most power in China currently
methane and carbon dioxide from decaying biomass. is generated in power plants burning fossil fuels,
The environmental impacts of geothermal power sys- especially coal. In 2002, for example, power generated
tems are generally easily managed (e.g., through re- using fossil fuels in China totaled 1342 billion kWh,
injection of condensates once heat has been extracted), accounting for 81.8% of a total of 1640 billion kWh.
so it makes sense to utilize this resource where it is The key environmental impacts caused by Chinas
available. power industry are the results of air pollutant emissions
In contrast, utilization of all fossil fuels is unsustain- from coal-red power generation. Fig. 3 shows the
able by denition. The combustion of fossil fuels, trends of national SO2 and dust emissions from thermal
especially coal, can produce heavy environmental power plant operation compared with the development
impacts through smoke dust (particulate matter), sulfur of the power industry (electricity generation and
dioxide, NOx, and CO2 emissions. In addition, some hot capacity) and with total nationwide SO2 emissions over
wastewater, as well as y ash and bottom ash, are also the past two decades.
produced by coal-red power plants. Generators can use As shown in Fig. 3, with the increase of thermal power
advanced technologies and equipment to reduce dust, electricity over the past 20 years, coal consumption has
SO2 and NOx emissions from fossil fuel-red power
3000
TP capacity (GW) TP electricity generation (1000 GWh)
Table 2 TP Coal consumption (Mt) TP dust (10 thousand t)
TP SO2 (10 thousand t) China SO2 Total (10 thousand t)
Environmental ranking of various power-generation technologies 2500
Wind energy
Tidal energy 1000
Biomass
Hydro Renewable and potentially 500
sustainable
Geothermal
0
Natural gas Non-renewable and 1980 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
unsustainable
Fig. 3. SO2 and dust emitted from thermal power plants (TP) in China
Oil
(adapted from State Power Information Network, 2002, National
Coal
Bureau of Statistics of China, Annual Statistics Data, http://
Nuclear
www.stats.gov.cn).
ARTICLE IN PRESS
1800 F. Zhu et al. / Energy Policy 33 (2005) 17971805
Table 3
SO2 concentration in ambient air and sulfur precipitation contributed by thermal power plants in China in 2000
City aver. City max. Regional aver. Regional max. City aver. City max. Regional aver. Regional max.
increased steadily. In 2002 total coal consumption in Chinas emissions of SO2, CO2, and substances that
China was more than 1.3 billion tons, of which about deplete the O3 (ozone) layer, are ranked, respectively,
50% was used for power generation. At present, about 8 the rst, second and rst in the listing of global
million tons of SO2 are emitted from coal-red power emissions by country (Wang, 2002). Without doubt,
plants each year, which accounts for about 50% of total the power industry is the largest contributor to these
industrial SO2 emissions in China. The 3 million tons or emissions. In addition, SO2 emitted from coal-red
so of dust emitted from coal-red power plants each year power plants is one of the principal precursors in acid-
amounts to about one-third of total industrial dust rain formation. Acid rain has been spreading in China in
(particulate matter) emissions. It is estimated that in recent years. The area of China affected by acid rain has
China over 4 million tons per year of NOx is emitted into extended from a few districts in the southwest as of the
the air from fossil-fueled power generation. 1980s, to a situation where most parts of southwest and
Emissions of SO2, NOx and dust from coal-red southern China are now affected, as well as much of
power plants can cause increases in ambient concentra- central and eastern China (Fig. 4). Districts in China
tions of these air pollutants. Table 3 shows SO2 where the annual pH of precipitation averages below 5.6
concentrations in the ambient air and sulfur precipita- now account for about 40% of the entire national land
tion contributed by thermal power plants by province in area (Zhu and Tan, 2002).
China as of 2000. Emissions of pollutants from thermal
power plants were major contributors to these ambient
levels of pollution. In most regions of North and 3. Environmental benets of power grid interconnection
Northeast China, and particularly in cities, the amount for China
of ambient SO2 concentration contributed just by coal-
red power plants is higher than the total average There are a number of benets that can be obtained
ambient concentration over all of China. from regional power grid interconnection (Zhang, 1995;
ARTICLE IN PRESS
F. Zhu et al. / Energy Policy 33 (2005) 17971805 1801
Table 4
Capacity and investment saving due to interconnection (Podkovalni-
kov, 2002)
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