Abstract
China has the world's largest shale gas reserves, which might enable it to pursue a new pathway for electricity generation. This study employed hybrid LCI (life cycle inventory) models to quantify the ETW (extraction-to-wire) GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions and water consumption per kWh of coal- and shale gas-fired electricity in China. Results suggest that a coal-to-shale gas shift and upgrading coal-fired power generation technologies could provide pathways to less GHG and water intensive power in China. Compared to different coal-fired generation technologies, the ETW GHG emissions intensity of gas-fired CC (combined cycle) technology is 530 g CO2e/kWh, which is 38-45% less than China's present coal-fired electricity. Gas-fired CT (combustion turbine) technology has the lowest ETW water consumption intensity at 960 g/kWh, which is 34-60% lower than China's present coal-fired electricity. The GHG-water tradeoff of the two gas-fired power generation technologies suggests that gas-fired power generation technologies should be selected based on regional-specific water resource availabilities and electricity demand fluctuations in China. However, the low price of coal-fired electricity, high cost of shale gas production, insufficient pipeline infrastructures, and multiple consumers of shale gas resources may serve as barriers to a coal-to-shale gas shift in China's power sector in the near term.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 335-343 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Energy |
| Volume | 86 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 15 2015 |
Keywords
- Coal
- Electric power generation
- Life cycle assessment
- Shale gas
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Civil and Structural Engineering
- Building and Construction
- Pollution
- Mechanical Engineering
- Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
