Environmental benefits of electricity grid interconnections in Northeast Asia

Abstract From an environmental perspective, electricity grid interconnections in Northeast Asia make sense. Cities in Northeast China, Mongolia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and the Republic of Korea (ROK) suffer from poor air quality due to the extensive use of coal-fired power generation. Rural communities suffer from a deficit of electricity, forcing reliance on coal and biofuels for cooking and heating in the home, which causes health-damaging indoor air pollution. Regional air pollution from acid rain and ozone is widespread. In addition, Japan is finding it hard to meet its commitment under the Kyoto Protocol. Yet, just across their borders in far eastern Russia are extensive, clean energy resources: hydroelectricity and natural gas, and (potentially) nuclear power and tidal power. It would be environmentally beneficial to generate electricity cleanly in far eastern Russia and transmit the electricity across the borders into China, Mongolia, the DPRK, the ROK, and Japan, thereby displacing coal-fired electricity generation. We estimate that currently planned projects could alleviate the problems of two to five Chinese cities, with the potential for much larger benefits in the future.

[1]  M. Jacobson,et al.  Strong radiative heating due to the mixing state of black carbon in atmospheric aerosols , 2022 .

[2]  P. Kasibhatla,et al.  Growth of Continental-Scale Metro-Agro-Plexes, Regional Ozone Pollution, and World Food Production , 1994, Science.

[3]  David G. Streets,et al.  Sulfur dioxide emissions in Asia in the period 1985–1997 , 2000 .

[4]  Wakana Takahashi.  Formation of an East Asian Regime for Acid Rain Control: The Perspective of Comparative Regionalism , 2000 .

[5]  Ming Yang,et al.  China's rural electrification and poverty reduction , 2003 .

[6]  M Z Jacobson,et al.  Recent Reductions in China's Greenhouse Gas Emissions , 2001, Science.

[7]  H. K. Florig,et al.  China's air pollution risks , 1997 .

[8]  J. Shah,et al.  China ’ s “ Two-Control-Zone ” Policy for Acid Rain Mitigation , 2022 .

[9]  G. Carmichael,et al.  Integrated analysis for acid rain in Asia: Policy implications and results of RAINS-Asia model , 2000 .

[10]  David G. Streets,et al.  Present and future emissions of air pollutants in China:: SO2, NOx, and CO , 2000 .

[11]  Tao Wang,et al.  On the origin and the trend of acid precipitation in China , 1995 .

[12]  David G. Streets,et al.  Potential for Advanced Technology to Improve Air Quality and Human Health in Shanghai , 1999, Environmental management.

[13]  G. Carmichael,et al.  Acid rain and acidification in China: the importance of base cation deposition. , 2000, Environmental pollution.

[14]  David G. Streets,et al.  Energy consumption and acid deposition in Northeast Asia , 1999 .

[15]  Jonathan E. Sinton,et al.  What goes up: recent trends in China's energy consumption , 2000 .

[16]  D. Dockery,et al.  Air pollution and daily mortality in residential areas of Beijing, China. , 1994, Archives of environmental health.

[17]  Michael Q. Wang,et al.  Black carbon emissions in China , 2001 .

[18]  H. Florig,et al.  Peer Reviewed: China's Air Pollution Risks. , 1997, Environmental science & technology.

[19]  S. C. Liu,et al.  Case study of the effects of atmospheric aerosols and regional haze on agriculture: an opportunity to enhance crop yields in China through emission controls? , 1999, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[20]  Michael Q. Wang,et al.  An inventory of gaseous and primary aerosol emissions in Asia in the year 2000 , 2003 .

[21]  中華人民共和国国家統計局.  China statistical yearbook , 1988 .

[22]  John Zhang,et al.  Carbon monoxide from cookstoves in developing countries: 1. Emission factors , 1999 .

[23]  Mary Meeker,et al.  The Internet Report , 1996 .

[24]  David G. Streets,et al.  BIOFUEL USE IN ASIA AND ACIDIFYING EMISSIONS1The above manuscript has been created by the University of Chicago as Operator of Argonne National Laboratory (“Argonne”) under Contract No. W-31-109-ENG-38 with the U.S. Department of Energy.1 , 1998 .

[25]  Hajime Akimoto,et al.  Seasonal characteristics of tropospheric ozone production and mixing ratios over East Asia: A global three-dimensional chemical transport model analysis , 2000 .