Identifying Generation and Emission Sources for Individual Loads at Specific Locations and Times: Toward Environmentally Sensitive and Guided Electricity Usage

Wayne State University, Detroit MI

Investigators

Abstract

Climate change due to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has become one of the most challenging issues in human society. In the U.S., electric power generation contributes about 40 % of the total GHG, 64% of SO2 emissions, 16% of NOx emissions, and 68% of mercury air emissions as well as large shares of other pollutants (such as small particulates) in 2010. It is then critically important to correctly account for emissions related to electricity generation, delivery and consumption. The emissions can be monitored and measured directly at the power plants. However, it has been called "impossible" to trace the emissions associated with electricity consumption back to generation sources. Because of this daunting difficulty, an accurate life-cycle analysis of electricity generation and usage cannot be done so far while such analysis is important to various products and processes including GHG inventories of different entities and regions. Moreover, it has also been very challenging or impossible to carry out clear and unequivocal cost and usage allocation analysis to equally share the benefit and responsibility for all entities involved in electricity generation and delivery. The importance of equity can never be overstated when designing and implementing public policy and engineering practices for interconnected power systems that include numerous generators and cover a vast area. The proposed research work will develop the right tools to link loads and generation/emission sources, to carry out effective cost and benefit analyses, and to help develop appropriate electric energy and environmental related policies to share responsibility among different entities, and ultimately maintain transparency, equity and fairness in electric power industry. The developed methods will facilitate active customer participation and help electricity users make informed choices. This project will also help advance technology and workforce development in electric power sector, which is critical to our whole nation and future sustainable electric energy development and usage. The goal of this research is to develop "disruptive" methods for real-time identification of generation and emission sources of any individual load at specific location and time. The following approach is taken: (1) A transformative, equivalent circuit model will be developed for power systems. A power system can be represented by the proposed transfer impedance based system equivalent model, which is transformative and can be used for other general circuit analyses; (2) A "disruptive" method will be developed to identify the generation sources of the total demand of individual loads at specific locations and times based on the equivalent model and phasor measurement unit or system state estimation data; (3) A novel method will be developed to identify marginal generators due to incremental demand changes based on publically available information; (4) Not only the locational marginal emissions but also the overall emissions will be accurately quantified for individual loads; and (5) An integrated economic/environmental optimal load management will be developed to achieve environmentally sensitive and guided electricity usage. The results of the project will provide the fundamental basis to ensure equity and fairness in developing and implementing public policy and engineering practices for interconnected power systems. The underlying power flow tracing technique will enable clear and unequivocal cost and usage allocation analyses to equally share the benefit and responsibility for all entities involved in electricity generation and delivery. Moreover, the outcomes of this project will quantify customer-specific emissions and enable users to perform economic/environmental load management to reduce cost and to achieve a range of environmental benefits.