Research On The Location Problem Of Straw-based Power Generation Plant: Considering The Influence Of Carbon Emission

At present straw-based power generation is the most stable form of utilization of renewable energy in the world. Straw based power generation technology is famous for its “Low carbon emissions and non-carbon emission”. However, during the operation of the straw based power plant, due to the inappropriate site selection of the plant, the collection radius of the straw may be so large that the plant’s real environmental profit is not able to meet the expectation of the society. In this paper, the location of straw based power generation plant is choosen as a subject. With taking both the economical profit and environmental profit into consideration, a locating model is made to analysis the decision process of straw based power generation plant’s site selection.In China, biomass power generation has undergone three phases of development, including the research and experiment phase, the rapid development phase, and the mature phase. In the first phase, most of the researches and studies are concentrated on the small-sized biomass gasification power generation technologies. Meanwhile, during the rapid development phase, large-sized straw-based direct-fire power generation technologies are preferred. The development of straw based power generation in China is then lack of sufficient preparation. At the same time, straw based power generation plants are constructed without reasonable planning or locating. All of these afore mentioned factoers together take the straw based power generation plants in China into a situation with many problems.Most of the problems are due to the inappropriate plant-location and the backward technology of straw based power generation. While the straw resources are rich in China, but the distribution of straw based power generation plants in different provinces is not in accordance with that of straw resources. It casues the competition for straw resources among the plants in the same region, which then makes the price of straw increased and the benefits of the plants decreased. Without a reasonable location, the collection radius of straw would be too large and this could increase the total carbon emissions of the straw based power generation system.The locations of straw based power generation plants are mainly determined by the straw resources’ supply. Traditional locating models usually consider the economical profit of the plant as the only objective. Taking the carbon emissions of the system into account, this paper gives a comprehensive performance analysis of straw power generation plant. It also shows the application of the location model in the case study. According to the result of case study, the carbon emission of straw based power generation system has effects on the location decision of the plant. When the weight of carbon emission is increased, the location decision result may be quite different with the result which takes the economical benefit as the only influence factor.It is sure that the location of straw based power generation plant has a great effect on the system’s economical and environmental performance. This paper firstly chooses the indicators for straw based power generation plant’s region suitability analysis. Based on the traditional site selection theory, this paper then utilizes the integer programming method to give an optimization model for the site selection of straw based power generation plant, with the minimization of total cost and total carbon emissions as two objectives. The demand and supply of straw resources are two constraints in the model. The multi-objective integer programming model is then applied in the case study to analyze the site selection progress of a straw based power generation plant.As a conclusion, carbon emission is an important factor which should be taken into consideration in the location decision of straw based power generation.