A provincial renewable portfolio standards-based distribution strategy for both power plant and user: A case study from Guangdong, China

• Published in: Energy policy 2022-06, Vol.165, p.112935, Article 112935
• Main Authors: Xu, Jiuping, Yang, Guocan, Wang, Fengjuan, Shu, Kejing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alternative energy sources; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide emissions; Case studies; Costs; Decision making; Electric power distribution; Electric power generation; Electricity; Electricity consumption; Electricity generation; Emissions; Energy policy; Environmental attitudes; Equilibrium; Policy impacts; Power; Power plants; Preferences; Provinces; Provincial power plan; Refuse as fuel; Renewable energy; Renewable energy development; Renewable portfolio standards
• ISSN: 0301-4215; 1873-6777
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2022.112935

Renewable portfolio standards have been found to be effective in promoting renewable energy developments; however, in China, the implementation of renewable portfolio standards is not yet fully developed. Based on policy acceptance, generation costs, and renewable power target perspectives, this paper proposes a multi-objective equilibrium model to develop an annual single province power plan. A case study from Guangdong province, China, is presented to demonstrate the practicality and efficiency of the presented model. Comparison analysis with current plans are made, three scenarios which consider the non-hydro renewable targets, market competition and a tougher environmental attitude are designed to adapted to the decision maker's preferences. It was found that: (1) the optimal model reallocated policy costs between power users, distributed the generation capacity between provinces, and could obtain 35.4% renewable electricity and 4.3% of non-hydro renewable electricity consumption in Guangdong; and (2) compared with the current plan, the optimal model effectively maintained power tariffs, decreased generation costs by 2.42%, and decreased Guangdong's electricity generation CO2 emissions by 8.21%. Policy suggestions for provincial governments to better implement provincial renewable portfolio standards are given. •Optimal distribution strategy under China's provincial RPS policy is proposed.•Multi-objective decision model considering demand and supply side is presented.•Real case in China to demonstrate the model practicality and efficiency is analyzed.•Influence of decision maker's preferences and nature resources are discussed.