Methods to reduce GHG emissions in Electricity Power Generation Sector

Electricity Power Generation is the largest contributors of Green House Gases (GHG). According
to a report released by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a leading international
body for the assessment of climate change, it is responsible for 25% of global GHG emission.
There are some methods can be applied in order to reduce the GHG emissions in this sector.

Source: IPCC (2014); based on global emissions from 2010.

Method 1: Fuel Switching
Today coal is used to generate about 41 percent of the worlds electricity [1]. This is because coal
is so abundant and cheap. However, during the combustion process, coal will release huge amount
of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and carbon dioxide is the main culprit of greenhouse effect.
In order to solve this, coal plants can be reconfigured to operate using natural gas. Many studies
have shown that electric power plants fueled with natural gas emit far less greenhouse gas (GHG)
than coal-fired plants. Reduction estimates tend to be quite consistent, ranging from 37% to 54%,
depending on the age and efficiency of the plants being compared [2].
With some minor modification on coal plant, 5 10 % biomass can be added into the fuel. Biomass
is a renewable energy source that can help in reducing CO2 emission. This is applicable as some
of the companies is already doing it. For example, Ontario Power Generation successfully convert
some of their coal plants to biomass after they spent $10 million to study and develop this
technology [3].

Method 2: Efficiency Improvement

The aim of this method is to increase the efficiency of electricity generating plant so that less CO2
is emitted to generate the same amount of electricity. One move is to build combine-cycle power
plant (CCPP) instead of simple cycle power plant. Generally, CCPP has higher efficiency rating
which is around 50%, as compared to simple cycle power plants 30% efficiency [4].
Another way to improve the efficiency is utilize the digital technology. A lot of power plant
solution companies such as General Electric and Siemens are carrying out the digitalization. They
created some digital applications to collect huge amount of data from plants, analyze the data for
useful information and use that information to optimize the performance of plant. For example,
General Electric set Guinness World Records title in 2016 for powering the worlds most
efficient combined-cycle power plant in Bouchain, France. The efficiency rating of the plant is
62.22% [5]. As claimed by them this is only achievable because of GEs Digital Power Plant
capabilities, including the digital control system, use real-time data to deliver better plant outcomes
with stable and efficient operations, while providing valuable predictive insights for higher
reliability and optimization.
For existing thermal plants, there are still ways to improve its efficiency such as improve the
quality of the fuel supply, rebuild or replace the older turbines and generators, improve the
combustion controls, upgrade the facility to increase the superheat and reheat temperature of older
coal plants etc.
Method 3: Carbon Capture Strategies
This method is to capture the CO2 before it escapes to the atmosphere. However, this is easier said
than done. The process involve separation of carbon dioxide from the flue gases, piping and storing
them in underground or under sea cavities. Many pilot projects of this Carbon Capture and Storage
Systems (CCS) are still developing. This idea is reverse of what human are doing, we try to store
the CO2 deep under earth which is where we extracted the fossil fuels.
Other technology such as amine scrubbing and chilled ammonia technologies are also being
considered and studied for this purpose. Neither of these approaches has been employed on a coal
plant on a commercial scale because they are very costly process.

[1] World Coal Association, https://www.worldcoal.org/coal/uses-coal/coal-electricity

[2] ConocoPhilips, http://www.conocophillips.com/sustainable-development/common-
questions/Pages/does-natural-gas-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions.aspx
[3] Ontario Power Generation, http://www.opg.com/generating-power/thermal/stations/atikokan-
station/pages/atikokan-station-biomass-conversion-project.aspx
[4] Bright Hub Engineering, http://www.brighthubengineering.com/power-plants/31486-how-to-
reduce-carbon-dioxide-emissions-from-power-plants/
[5] General Electric, https://powergen.gepower.com/about/insights/power-plant-efficiency-
record.html