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Scoping the Business Case for Microgrids
Published in Stephen A. Roosa, Fundamentals of Microgrids, 2020
An example of a regulated regional U.S. cap-and-trade system that applies carbon offsets is the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an initiative developed by states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. The basic objective of the RGGI is to reduce GHG emissions from the electrical power production sector while maintaining economic competitiveness and efficiency across the regional power market. The framework of the RGGI follows the model of earlier successful cap-and-trade systems, such as those used to reduce acid rain-producing sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions. Every regulated cap-and-trade program includes the following basic components: a decision about who is being regulatedmandated emissions reduction levelsprovision for the distribution or allocation of permits or allowances that power generators requirea structure for the trading mechanisms
Climate Change
Published in Barry L. Johnson, Maureen Y. Lichtveld, Environmental Policy and Public Health, 2017
Barry L. Johnson, Maureen Y. Lichtveld
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) was the first mandatory cap-and-trade program in the U.S. to limit CO2 from the power sector [49]. It consists of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Following discussions initiated by the Governor of New York in 2003, the RGGI was established in 2005, and administered its first auction of CO2 emissions allowances in 2008. By 2020, the RGGI CO2 cap is projected to contribute to a 45% reduction in the region’s annual power-sector CO2 emissions from 2005 levels, or between 80 and 90 million short tons of CO2. The RGGI requires fossil fuel power plants over 25 MW in participating states to obtain an allowance for each ton of CO2 emitted annually. Power plants within the region may comply with the cap by purchasing allowances from quarterly auctions, other generators within the region, or offset projects.
Environment and Energy Sustainability
Published in Roy L. Nersesian, Energy Economics, 2016
Several US states are requiring companies to report on their carbon dioxide emissions, a possible precursor to setting up a program to place a limit on or decrease emissions. A few states require either a carbon cap or an offset requirement for new plants, a few others have set up committees to explore the possibility of carbon sequestration, and a fair number are developing climate action plans. Many states have instituted some means of keeping track of greenhouse gas inventories and/or have issued mandates for renewable energy to play a specified role in meeting electricity demand. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is the first market-based regulatory program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector. Its membership includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. As a cooperative effort, RGGI implemented a new 2014 cap of 91 million short tons of carbon emissions for the power sector, which then declines 2.5 percent each year from 2015 to 2020. Member states sell emission allowances through auctions and invest the proceeds in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other consumer benefit programs, spurring innovation in the clean energy economy and creating green jobs.31 How the August 2015 proposed EPA regulation on reducing carbon emissions by electricity utilities will affect these state and regional initiatives is not known.
The effect of emission permit allocation in an early-stage cap-and-trade for a duopoly market
Published in International Journal of Production Research, 2021
Yanfang Zheng, Wenhui Zhou, Xi Chen, Weixiang Huang
Emission trading, also referred to as ‘cap-and-trade,’ is a mechanism increasingly adopted by countries and regions world-wide to provide economic incentives for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Dai et al. 2018; Sheng and Li 2017; Wang, Fu, and Luo 2015). Under cap-and-trade, companies are required to buy emission permits if they emit over their emission cap, whereas they may sell the remaining permits if they emit under the cap. As a result, high emission levels are penalised, while low emission levels are rewarded. The World Bank Group reported 36 national-level cap-and-trade systems and 23 subnational-level systems either implemented or are scheduled to be implemented in 2016 (World Bank 2016). For example, the first and most comprehensive cap-and-trade program is European Union emission trading System (EU ETS), which started its first phase (Phase I) in 2005 and is currently in Phase III (2013–2020). The first cap-and-trade program in the United States is the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which took effect in 2009. China, the world's largest emitter of GHG, has also launched several pilots and announced a plan for a national system effective in 2017.
Reducing carbon dioxide emissions from electricity sector using demand side management
Published in Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 2021
Sulaiman A. Almohaimeed, Siddharth Suryanarayanan, Peter O’Neill
CPP is a prime example because it was the most comprehensive and largest climate protection plan in the U.S. until its proposed repeal in 2017. Subsequent legal actions in early 2021 have opened possibilities for the revival of this protection plan, although the CPP was not specifically reinstated. The original CPP provides several approaches and options to meet the targeted reduction of emissions from electric utility-generating unit (EGU) or power plants. Several scenarios have been proposed to incorporate with the plan, which would lead to achieving the goal with less impact on electricity generation. Further, several successful state and international climate plans encourage governments, communities, individuals, and businesses to take additional actions to reduce GHG. California Assembly Bill (AB32) is a plan launched in 2006 to reach an 80% emissions reduction below 1990 levels by 2050 (Beard et al. 2010). Also, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a cooperative program in the eastern U.S. to limit CO2 from the power sector. Internationally, the province of Ontario in Canada launched a plan to mitigate CO2 emissions from the electricity sector. The results show Ontario can achieve more than 50% emissions reduction by removing coal-fired power plants (Government of Ontario 2017). Additionally, China is considering plans to control and mitigate air pollution from electricity generation (Finamore et al. 2003). Since the CPP has been proposed for repeal, there is a dire need for identifying alternatives to regulations on EGUs that can mitigate CO2 emissions from the electricity sector. In this regard, several options can be considered such as heat rate improvements, renewable energy installations, and electricity transmission and distribution improvements (Schiller 2015). In fact, several methods can be used to mitigate CO2 from the atmosphere (Wen and Hao 2020). Since this paper discusses the issue from an engineering point of view, engineering solutions in the distribution system are one of the emerging strategies to reach CO2 mitigation goals. Several methodologies are followed to reduce the emission from the electricity sector. Other technologies are used to capture CO2 from coal-fired power plants. Decarbonization of power generation is one of the options that might lead to CO2 mitigation (Zhang 2020). Some studies discussed the improvement of carbon-emitting generating units by increasing their efficiency (Kumar and Kandpal 2007). One of the options is replacing low-efficiency electricity generators by units with a smaller carbon footprint. Further, integrating renewable energy technologies reduce GHG emissions by displacement and reducing the utilization of fossil-fueled facilities (Ward et al. 2017). Another method to reduce carbon footprint is to increase the efficiency in residential and commercial buildings. Such an option can minimize the end-user electric demand and in turn, reduce the need for more generation. For example, improving the thermal resistance of windows and controlling air leakage from heating and cooling devices is an effective way in energy savings (2016).