Open source-based modeling of power plants retrofit and its application to the Korean electricity sector

It is widely acknowledged that the power generation sector is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Especially, carbon dioxide emissions from the coal-fired power plant fleet are estimated to be 8.5 Giga tons in 2010 accounting for one-quarter of the global anthropogenic carbon emissions. It has often been claimed that the power plants retrofit may be considered one of the most promising emissions reduction alternatives. This study presents a noble approach to modeling the power plant retrofit based on the bottom-up formulation of OSeMOSYS, which provides a wide range of flexibility in energy systems modeling. The proposed approach has been demonstrated for the Korean electricity sector. The optimal solutions for the schedule of power plants retrofit have been obtained, and the effect of retrofit options on greenhouse gas emissions and associated costs has been further examined. It is shown that the power plants retrofit can be highly cost-effective for emissions reduction from the power generation sector. The proposed approach to retrofit modeling may contribute to attaining a deeper understanding on the analysis of power plants retrofit.