Figure 1 Electricity production by resource in the Asia-Pacific region in 1990, 2012( TWh)
for higher-efficiency supercritical, USC or advanced ultra-supercritical( A-USC) CFPPs.
●●
Variable operations and maintenance( O & M) costs are also generally lower for subcritical plants than for supercritical, USC, or A-USC CFPPs due to the lower pressures and temperatures required for combustion.
●●
LCOEs, however, are generally lower for supercritical, USC and A-USC CFPPs when compared with subcritical CFPPs because they require less fuel in order to generate the same amount of electricity. Thus, when a long-term view is taken, high-efficiency, low emission( HELE) generation is more cost-effective over the lifetime of a CFPP than less-efficient subcritical generation, due to lower fuel requirements.
Adverse externalities of coal-fired generation should be considered when deciding which type of generation technology to employ. The costs associated with negative externalities are not included in LCOE calculations; meaning HELE generation would be even more attractive if they were considered.
●●
Globally, coal-fired power generation is a leading source of sulphur oxides( SOx), nitrous oxides( NOx), particulate matter
( PM) and mercury, along with other toxic pollutant emissions.
●●
According to the International Energy Agency( IEA), in 2011, electricity and heat generation accounted for 42 % of global
CO 2 emissions, of which 72 % was derived from one source – CFPPs( IEA, 2013a).
●●
The share of coal in Asia-Pacific’ s energy mix has drastically increased over the past decade, accounting for approximately 55 % of electricity generation as of 2012( see Figure 1)( ESCAP, 2015).
●●
Per kWh, coal has nearly 20 % more greenhouse gas( GHG) emissions than oil, more than twice as much GHG emissions as gas, and almost 22 times more GHG emissions than solar photovoltaics( PV).
●●
Consumption of energy is directly tied to water consumption, with 15 % of the world’ s total water withdrawals used for energy production in 2010. Within the energy sector, thermal power plants( burning fossil fuels and nuclear) are the most intensive users of water.
To allow for the integration of increasing shares of variable renewable energy( VRE), coal assets must increase operating flexibility by improving performance in the following areas:
65