Multi-objective and multi-criteria optimization for power generation expansion planning with CO2 mitigation in Thailand

In power generation expansion planning, electric utilities have encountered the major challenge of environmental awareness whilst being concerned with budgetary burdens. The approach for selecting generating technologies should depend on economic and environmental constraint as well as externalities. Thus, the multi-objective optimization becomes a more attractive approach. This paper presents a hybrid framework of multi-objective optimization and multi-criteria decision making to solve power generation expansion planning problems in Thailand. In this paper, CO2 emissions and external cost are modeled as a multi-objective optimization problem. Then the analytic hierarchy process is utilized to determine thecompromised solution. For carbon capture and storage technology, CO2 emissions can be mitigated by 74.7% from the least cost plan and leads to the reduction of the external cost of around 500 billion US dollars over the planning horizon. Results indicate that the proposed approach provides optimum cost-related CO2 mitigation plan as well as external cost

Assessment of Thailand’s Energy Policies and CO2 Emissions: Analyses of Energy Efficiency Measures and Renewable Power Generation

This study assesses Thailand’s energy policies on renewable electricity generation and energy efficiency in industries and buildings. The CO2 emissions from power generation expansion plans (PGEPs) are also evaluated. The PGEPs of CO2 reduction targets of 20% and 40% emissions are also evaluated. Since 2008 Thai government has proposed the Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP) for renewable energy utilization. Results from energy efficiency measures indicate total cost saving of 1.34% and cumulative CO2 emission reduction of 59 Mt-CO2 in 2030 when compared to the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario. It was found that subsidies in the AEDP will promote renewable energy utilization and provide substantial CO2 mitigation. As a co-benefit, fuel import vulnerability can be improved by 27.31% and 14.27% for CO2 reduction targets of 20% and 40%, respectively

Background

Since the world oil crisis in the 1970s, researchers and policy makers have started under-standing and investigation on energy savings and management in the energy systems, especially power generation, industry, and transport sectors. In addition, the climate change problem has provided greater motivation to improve scientific discourse. Hence, not only investigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential but also study of mitigation schemes is an important issue, which has been extensively discussed in the field of energy planning and environmental management. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was established in 1992, is an international environmental treaty to set binding obli-gations on industrialized countries to reduce GHG emissions as well as to achieve the stabilization of GHG concentration in the atmosphere (UNFCCC 2005). The Kyoto Protocol (KP) has been adopted to reduce both direct and indirect GHG emissions (UNFCCC 2008a). The GHG data reported by UNFCCC contain estimates for the direct greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and sulphur hexafluorid