Abstract
Air pollutants emissions are mainly from energy-related sectors. Among these sectors, power sector has the greatest air pollutants mitigation potential as the emissions are centralized from power plants which are easier to control. In order to decrease air pollutants emissions from the power sector, the Chinese government started to vigorously promote ultra-low emission technologies in 2015. However, power supply and demand in China exhibit a feature of uneven spatial distribution, which should be taken into account by policy makers in power sector planning. In this paper, a “most-likely” scenario of air quality control in China’s power sector is presented based on a multi-regional, load-dispatch and grid-structure based power generation planning model, illustrating the development of power generation technologies and changes in their spatial distribution. The impact on regional air pollutants emissions and power transmission among regions is also illustrated.