The Enemy Within? Green Industrial Policy and Stranded Assets in China’s Power Sector

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Jonas Nahm ◽  
Johannes Urpelainen
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Power Sector ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Industrial Policies ◽  
Financial Investments ◽  
Financial Interests ◽  
Coal Power Plants ◽  
Coal Power ◽  
Chinese Coal ◽  
Green Industrial Policy

Abstract This article examines potential interest group opposition to green industrial policies through the lens of state investment in China’s coal power sector. Using a novel data set on financial investments in Chinese coal power plants, we show that state actors have controlling stakes in the majority of nominally private coal plants. Importantly, the majority of such plants have investments from multiple levels of government. Green industrial policies could therefore face resistance from economic coalitions within the state, as state-owned coal plants and government agencies object to policies that harm their financial interests. Theoretically, this implies the need for a conceptualization of state capacity that allows for the ability to overcome internal opposition. Empirically, we highlight a predicament for the Chinese state: it has set ambitious goals to decarbonize but also has a vested interest in ensuring the profitability of the world’s largest coal-fired power generation fleet.

scholarly journals On the Assessment of the 2030 Power Sector Transition in Spain

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Gómez-Calvet ◽  
José M. Martínez-Duart
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Demand Curve ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Power Sector ◽  
Programming Techniques ◽  
Coal Power Plants ◽  
Coal Power ◽  
Expected Increase

Recently, the European Union has recognized that more ambitious plans in reducing emissions are needed in order to comply with the target 1.5–2° warming limit for this century. Along this line, the main objective of this paper is to study the evolution of the power sector in Spain, taking into account the Paris Agreement and the further European Union Directives. In particular, we have studied the substitution by renewable energies of all coal power plants before 2030. For this study, we have applied linear programming techniques to optimize the deployment of the additional wind and solar resources. If, in addition to the substitution of coal power plants, we also consider the expected increase in demand for the period 2019–2030, we find that the present park of renewables should be increased by a factor of about 115%. We have also statistically analyzed the amount of surpluses and shortages in energy, assuming that the demand curve would have a daily shape similar to the present one. As a result, we have found that additional storage capabilities of around 55 GWh for 11 h would be needed in order not to waste more than 25% surplus energy by curtailment. As for backup, we propose in a first step to use the overwhelming amount of gas combined cycle units which are available.

scholarly journals Leaching behavior of trace elements from fly ashes of five Chinese coal power plants

2020 ◽  
Vol 219 ◽  
pp. 103381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Zhao ◽  
Shifeng Dai ◽  
Robert B. Finkelman ◽  
David French ◽  
Ian T. Graham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Elements ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Fly Ashes ◽  
Leaching Behavior ◽  
Coal Power Plants ◽  
Coal Power ◽  
Chinese Coal

Advancing Oxycombustion Technology for Bituminous Coal Power Plants: An R&D Guide

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Woods ◽  
Michael Matuszewski ◽  
Robert Brasington
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Bituminous Coal ◽  
Coal Power Plants ◽  
Coal Power

scholarly journals Weather-Driven Scenario Analysis for Decommissioning Coal Power Plants in High PV Penetration Grids

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2389
Author(s):  
Samuel Matthew G. Dumlao ◽  
Keiichi N. Ishihara
Keyword(s):  
Solar Energy ◽  
Scenario Analysis ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Hourly Temperature ◽  
Coal Power Plants ◽  
Coal Power ◽  
Pv Penetration

Despite coal being one of the major contributors of CO2, it remains a cheap and stable source of electricity. However, several countries have turned to solar energy in their goal to “green” their energy generation. Solar energy has the potential to displace coal with support from natural gas. In this study, an hourly power flow analysis was conducted to understand the potential, limitations, and implications of using solar energy as a driver for decommissioning coal power plants. To ensure the results’ robustness, the study presents a straightforward weather-driven scenario analysis that utilizes historical weather and electricity demand to generate representative scenarios. This approach was tested in Japan’s southernmost region, since it represents a regional grid with high PV penetration and a fleet of coal plants older than 40 years. The results revealed that solar power could decommission 3.5 GW of the 7 GW coal capacity in Kyushu. It was discovered that beyond 12 GW, solar power could not reduce the minimum coal capacity, but it could still reduce coal generation. By increasing the solar capacity from 10 GW to 20 GW and the LNG quota from 10 TWh to 28 TWh, solar and LNG electricty generation could reduce the emissions by 37%, but the cost will increase by 5.6%. Results also show various ways to reduce emissions, making the balance between cost and CO2 a policy decision. The results emphasized that investing in solar power alone will not be enough, and another source of energy is necessary, especially for summer and winter. The weather-driven approach highlighted the importance of weather in the analysis, as it affected the results to varying degrees. The approach, with minor changes, could easily be replicated in other nations or regions provided that historical hourly temperature, irradiance, and demand data are available.

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