Techno-economic assessment and policy of gas power generation considering the role of multiple stakeholders in China

In accordance with the energy planning in China, within the “Twelfth Five-Year” period (2011–2015), the proportion of natural gas among primary energy consumption is expected to increase from the current 4% to 8%. In 2015, about 17 natural gas pipelines will be completed. This paper reviews the current situation of gas power generation, analyzes the main opportunities and obstacles of gas power generation development in China, and conducts a techno-economic assessment of the natural gas power generation, taking into account the role and the interaction of the multiple stakeholders in the natural gas industry chain. Taking a power plant fueled with the natural gas transported by the second West-to-East Pipeline as an example, it is found that the on-grid power price fluctuates upward with the rise of gas price and downward with the increase of annual utilization hours, and the influences of tax policies on the on-grid power price prove to be highly significant. As the analysis and calculation indicate, the environmental benefits of natural gas power generation ought to be strongly emphasized, compared with coal-fired power generation. Finally, this paper puts forward specific policy recommendations, from the perspectives of electricity price, gas price, tax, power grid dispatching, etc.