Analytical procedure for carbon tax evaluation

Abstract In this paper, an analytical procedure for carbon tax evaluation is presented. The aim is the assignment to energy plants of a charge linked to their CO 2 emissions. The problem is faced through the use of an environomic approach, including evaluation of the cost of the exergy destroyed inside the system and the cost of exergy rejected to the biosphere with the plant wastes ( Efficiency penalty ) coupled with evaluation of the Index of CO 2 emission herein defined. In this way, the procedure allows a cost of the emitted CO 2 to be obtained based not on political considerations but only on efficiency and exergy analysis. The aim is to reward the efficient use of energy resources and to penalize the inefficient plants. The procedure is applied for the analysis of three typical Italian energy plants burning fossil fuels: a 320 MW coal steam plant; a 700 MW natural gas combined plant; and a 30 MW gas turbine cogeneration plant. The plants are analysed using an environomic optimization and taking into account all their pollutant emissions (CO, NO x , SO x and CO 2 ). The values of the CO 2 emissions charges obtained with the proposed procedure are presented and discussed in depth and a comparison with the possible costs of CO 2 sequestration activities is presented too.

[1]  Miguel A. Lozano,et al.  Theory of the exergetic cost , 1993 .

[2]  K. Wilhelmsen,et al.  A study of the costs and energy requirement for carbon dioxide disposal , 1993 .

[3]  Tomio Mimura,et al.  Development of CO2 Recovery Technology from Combustion Flue Gas. , 1998 .

[4]  M. J. Moran,et al.  Thermal design and optimization , 1995 .

[5]  A. F. Massardo,et al.  A tool for thermoeconomic analysis and optimization of gas, steam, and combined plants , 1997 .

[6]  Aristide F. Massardo,et al.  Carbon tax vs CO2 sequestration effects on environomic analysis of existing power plants , 1999 .

[7]  Christos Athanasios Frangopoulos,et al.  Thermoeconomic functional analysis :a method for optimal design or improvement of complex thermal systems , 1983 .

[8]  W. Salomons,et al.  Environmental Management of Solid Waste , 1988 .

[9]  Otto Skovholt.  Co2 transportation system , 1993 .

[10]  A. Ravindran,et al.  Engineering Optimization: Methods and Applications , 2006 .

[11]  Romano Borchiellini,et al.  Environomic Optimization for Combined Plants Including CO2 Influence , 1999 .

[12]  André Jaumotte,et al.  Évaluation économique de la pollution de l'environnement par une activité industrielle. Application aux centrales électriques , 1985 .

[13]  M. Faber,et al.  Towards a Long-Term Balance Between Economics and Environmental Protection , 1988 .

[14]  A. Hohman,et al.  Managing the Environment: The Role of Economic Instruments, OECD. 1994. OECD Publications and Information Center, Washington, DC. 192 pages. ISBN: 92-64-14136-7. $27.00 , 1995 .

[15]  A. F. Massardo,et al.  Environmental Influence on the Thermoeconomic Optimization of a Combined Plant With NOx Abatement , 1998 .

[16]  Romano Borchiellini,et al.  Thermoeconomic analysis of a combined power plant , 1997 .

[17]  Eban S. Goodstein.  Economics and the environment , 1995 .

[18]  I. R. Summerfield,et al.  Costs of CO2 disposal options , 1993 .

[19]  Michael von Spakovsky,et al.  A Global Environomic Approach for Energy Systems Analysis and Optimization (Part I). , 1993 .

[20]  A. Stern.  Fundamentals of air pollution , 1973 .

[21]  Giampaolo Manfrida,et al.  Absorption of CO2 With Amines in a Semiclosed GT Cycle: Plant Performance and Operating Costs , 1998 .

[22]  Christos A. Frangopoulos,et al.  A method for taking into account environmental impacts in the economic evaluation of energy systems , 1997 .