At this event, Kamal Chowdhury, Associate Research Scientist at the University of Maryland’s Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC), and Thomas Wild, Assistant Research Professor at ESSIC and JGCRI Research Scientist, will present their research on the impact of economy-wide decarbonization strategies on capacity expansion and operations of China Southern Power Grid, a state-owned electric utility that manages power for China's five southern provinces.
Abstract: Achieving economy-wide deep decarbonization requires meeting increased electricity demand from end-use electrification and enhanced integration of intermittent wind and solar power, exacerbating operational challenges for future power grids. This study employs a coupled framework of an integrated assessment model and a power system model – specifically, the GlobalChange Analysis Model (GCAM) and GridPath – to investigate the capacity expansion and operational challenges of China Southern Power Grid (CSPG) under economy-wide decarbonization strategies. GCAM facilitates a comprehensive analysis of economy-wide deep decarbonization, considering feedback and constraints on interconnected climate, water, land, and socio-economic systems, but with low spatiotemporal scales (e.g., provincial and annual) due to broad sectoral and global coverage. GridPath, on the other hand, provides detailed power sector analysis, including identification of optimal portfolios of generation, storage, and transmission capacities, as well as hourly electricity dispatch and associated risks and costs. The coupled framework enables us to investigate the implications of decarbonization pathways on grid operations while accounting for the impacts on and constraints from interconnected sectors and global changes.