Co-firing Coal with Biomass under Mandatory Obligation for Renewable Electricity: Implication for the Electricity Mix
研究了将煤与生物质混烧认定为可再生能源对法国和德国电力结构的影响，发现这可能导致传统可再生能源被挤出、碳排放增加，但降低电力成本，且成本节约低于碳排放的社会成本。
This paper analyses the effect of recognizing co-firing coal with biomass as renewable electricity. We provide simulations for the French and German electricity mix. Results indicate that, if co-firing is recognized as a renewable, coal may crowd-out traditional renewables with increased generation and additional investments. Regarding CO2 emissions, we find surges when co-firing is recognized as a renewable. The rise is more significant in Germany due to greater coal capacity. In France, the magnitude depends on the share of nuclear with a lower increase when old nuclear plants are prolonged. Finally, we find that recognizing co-firing as a renewable reduces the overall costs for electricity. We balance the cost saving with the increased social cost from higher CO2 emissions. Results show that the cost saving is lower than the increased carbon cost for society with carbon valuation around 100 Euros/tCO2, except in France when old nuclear plants are not decommissioned.