Electricity network planning targeting Low-Carbon energy transition

Electricity sector, as one of the major emission sources of carbon dioxide (CO₂), is responsible for reducing carbon emissions and is a major player that addresses global climate change. In the efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change over the coming decades, decarbonizing power systems is critical. To achieve this goal, power generation systems need a transition from a high reliance on coal-fired power stations to a low-carbon energy mix. This paper proposes a transition planning method that includes the retirement of coal-fired generators and the integration of large-scale renewable power plants. Hence, transmission systems need to be upgraded simultaneously with the changing of generation mix to ensure system reliability. This paper also considers carbon emission cost and introduces and compares two models, which include carbon trading and carbon tax. Furthermore, issues related to the ramping of renewable power systems that are caused by the large penetration of renewable power generators are taken into account by adding the cost related to the sudden change of renewable generation (ramping cost) in the objective function. The proposed model is demonstrated on a modified IEEE 24-bus RTS system.