Assessment of the Potential for Decarbonization of the Russian Thermal Power Industry Based on Bat Implementation

Thermal energy is one of the main sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. To fulfill Russia’s obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris Climate Agreement, it is planned to focus in the energy sector on the development and implementation of cleaner technologies for the use of energy fuels, hydrogen and hydrogen-containing mixtures, the decommissioning of obsolete equipment, and the accelerated introduction of new efficient energy plants. As part of the study, an assessment was made of the real possibilities of decarbonization of the Russian heat and power industry through the implementation of priority measures provided for in the Strategy for the Socio-Economic Development of Russia with Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions until 2050. For this purpose, a comparison was made of the carbon intensity of various technologies for generating electrical and thermal energy, taking into account the type of thermal power engineering enterprises and the efficiency of power steam turbine, gas turbine, and combined-cycle gas plants burning various types of fuel. Possibilities for reducing CO₂ emissions were assessed due to improving the quality of solid fuel, the transition from burning coal to burning natural gas, the introduction of combined-cycle gas plants, increasing the efficiency of power plants, decommissioning obsolete equipment, and the use of hydrogen-containing gases and pure hydrogen as fuel.