Evaluating the Influence of Wind and Solar Power Plants, Cogeneration, and Coal Share in the Fuel Balance on the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Abstract

The energy transition for “green” hydrogen is supposed to be carried out through a widescale use of wind energy. The area of wind farms required for this purpose may reach 38.5% of the European Union’s territory. In the scientific literature, it is pointed out that the use of wind turbines for meeting 10% of the world demand for energy can result in that the land surface temperature will increase by more than 1°C by 2100. A change in the temperature is observed immediately after commissioning of wind farms, whereas the climatic gain from reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is a matter of the future. Currently, no attention is paid to the influence of wind and solar power plants (WPPs and SPPs) on the growth of greenhouse gas emissions as a consequence of changes in the structure and loading conditions of generating capacities in the power system. The aim of this work is to determine the possibility of reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the power system by changing the fuel-balance structure, achieving more efficient generation of electricity, developing WPPs and SPPs, and consider methods for implementing it. Assessments of the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by power plants in changing the structure of generating capacities and also in replacing one fuel kind by another are given. It is shown that nowadays, the balance of demand and offer in the power system, e.g., of Germany, is maintained owing to electric energy export. For the period from 2000 to 2018, the amount of electricity generated by WPPs and SPPs increased by 146 TW h, whereas that by nuclear power plants (NPPs) dropped by 94 TW h, while the export of electric energy to the power systems of neighboring countries increased by 52 TW h. The decrease in the amount of electricity generated by coal-fired thermal power plants (TPPs) by 69 TW h was compensated by increasing the amount of electricity generated by natural gas fired thermal power plants by 34 TW h, and by 47 TW h owing to power plants that use biogas, solid and liquid biofuel, and solid municipal waste as fuel. Study results have shown that, in the absence of energy storage devices, the development of wind and solar power plants cannot be regarded as an efficient way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the power system, the more so that WPPs and SPPs are significantly inferior to various combined electricity- and heat-generation versions.