China's energy system is heavily reliant on coal, contributing to significant climate and air quality challenges.
Transitioning to cleaner energy sources is crucial for China to meet its environmental targets.
Purpose of the Study:
To evaluate the environmental and economic viability of natural gas as an alternative to coal-fired power in China.
To identify optimal strategies for natural gas utilization to maximize environmental and economic benefits.
Main Methods:
Utilized plant-level data for coal and gas-fired power plants.
Employed a multidisciplinary modeling approach to assess environmental and economic costs.
Analyzed Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) including pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) costs.
Main Results:
Natural gas power exhibits significantly lower air pollution costs (0.77 vs. 12.2 cents/kWh) and moderately lower GHG costs (2.8 vs. 4.5 cents/kWh) compared to coal.
An average environmental advantage of 12.1 cents/kWh and a social benefit of 10.4 cents/kWh were identified for gas power.
Spatial analysis revealed the highest benefits in east-central China, with potential emission reductions of SO2 (28%), NOX (15%), and PM (56%) through strategic substitution.
Conclusions:
Shifting from coal to natural gas offers substantial environmental and economic advantages for China's energy sector.
Prioritizing natural gas deployment in high-benefit regions can yield greater emission reductions and environmental improvements.
The study provides quantitative evidence supporting the development and strategic utilization of natural gas power in China.
