2 research outputs found
Dynamic Management of NO<sub><i>x</i></sub> and SO<sub>2</sub> Emissions in the Texas and Mid-Atlantic Electric Power Systems and Implications for Air Quality
Cap
and trade programs have historically been designed to achieve
annual or seasonal reductions in emissions of nitrogen oxides and
sulfur dioxide from power plants. Emissions reductions may not be
temporally coincident with meteorological conditions conducive to
the formation of peak ozone and fine particulate matter concentrations.
Integrated power system and air quality modeling methods were developed
to evaluate time-differentiated emissions price signals on high ozone
days in the Mid-Atlantic portion of the Pennsylvania–New Jersey–Maryland
(PJM) Interconnection and Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)
grids. Sufficient flexibility exists in the two grids with marked
differences in demand and fuel generation mix to accommodate time-differentiated
emissions pricing alone or in combination with a season-wide program.
System-wide emissions reductions and production costs from time-differentiated
pricing are shown to be competitive with those of a season-wide program
on high ozone days and would be more cost-effective if the primary
policy goal was to target emissions reductions on these days. Time-differentiated
pricing layered as a complement to the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
had particularly pronounced benefits for the Mid-Atlantic PJM system
that relies heavily on coal-fired generation. Time-differentiated
pricing aimed at reducing ozone concentrations had particulate matter
reduction co-benefits, but if particulate matter reductions are the
primary objective, other approaches to time-differentiated pricing
may lead to greater benefits
Flexible NO<sub><i>x</i></sub> Abatement from Power Plants in the Eastern United States
Emission controls that provide incentives for maximizing
reductions
in emissions of ozone precursors on days when ozone concentrations
are highest have the potential to be cost-effective ozone management
strategies. Conventional prescriptive emissions controls or cap-and-trade
programs consider all emissions similarly regardless of when they
occur, despite the fact that contributions to ozone formation may
vary. In contrast, a time-differentiated approach targets emissions
reductions on forecasted high ozone days without imposition of additional
costs on lower ozone days. This work examines simulations of such
dynamic air quality management strategies for NO<sub><i>x</i></sub> emissions from electric generating units. Results from a model
of day-specific NO<sub><i>x</i></sub> pricing applied to
the Pennsylvania–New Jersey–Maryland (PJM) portion of
the northeastern U.S. electrical grid demonstrate (i) that sufficient
flexibility in electricity generation is available to allow power
production to be switched from high to low NO<sub><i>x</i></sub> emitting facilities, (ii) that the emission price required
to induce EGUs to change their strategies for power generation are
competitive with other control costs, (iii) that dispatching strategies,
which can change the spatial and temporal distribution of emissions,
lead to ozone concentration reductions comparable to other control
technologies, and (iv) that air quality forecasting is sufficiently
accurate to allow EGUs to adapt their power generation strategies