Environmental Generation Scheduling Considering Air Pollution Control Technologies and Weather Effects

Because the power industry makes a significant contribution to air pollution, a variety of air pollution control technologies have been adopted to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matters. However, the deployment of these technologies affects the operation of the power plants and of the power system. This paper first discusses the emissions of multiple pollutants by coal- and gas-fired generators equipped with different emission control devices. It then presents the formulation of an environmental power generation scheduling (EnPGS) model, which coordinates the operating cost and the emissions of these pollutants, including the emissions during the startup and shutdown processes. This model considers the air quality index and how this index is affected by the weather, and optimizes the spatial distribution of generation between regions. It also takes into account the operating characteristics of various emission control devices, such as the deactivation of selective catalytic reduction at low output, and the burn mode switching of combined cycle gas turbines. A case study covering several Chinese provinces demonstrates the potential effectiveness of the EnPGS at reducing multiple air pollutants.