Volume 21: Sustainable Energy Solutions for a Post-COVID Recovery towards a Better Future: Part IV

Potential of Curtailed Renewable Power Utilization Under Carbon Neutrality – A China Case Study Yinan Li, Xiaonan Wang

Abstract

With the recently announced 2060 carbon neutrality goal by China, high penetration of renewable resources in power sector can be expected. However, the intermittent nature of wind and solar energies requires the deployment of dispatchable technologies and also raises the problem of power curtailment. In this work, a case study on China’s power sector in 2018 is conducted as if carbon neutrality was to be enforced. Both fossil fuels and renewable resources are utilized for power supply to match hourly demand profile at minimum system cost. Moreover, the amount of power curtailment is estimated from the optimal carbon neutral power mix. Leveraging on the concept of energy-chemical nexus, the potential of producing green methanol and ammonia in China from hydrogen via water electrolysis with curtailed power is investigated.

Keywords renewable energy, carbon neutrality, power curtailment, energy-chemical nexus, green methanol, green ammonia