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In Japan, electric power utilities purchase electricity from independent power producers (IPPs) through competitive bidding; the IPP evaluation is based on the avoided costs of corresponding generators of utilities. In this evaluation, however, nonpricing factors such as power flow constraints in the electric power system cannot be considered. In this paper, we propose a new approach to evaluate economic impacts of IPPs, the IPP electricity being priced on the basis of total generating costs of the electric power utilities. Such a price to purchase the electricity of IPPs is referred to as the “break-even cost.” The main results are summarized as follows: 1) Break-even cost depends on not only the power flow constraints in the system, but also various IPP factors such as generating pattern, location, and capacity, 2) Break-even cost for the base-type IPP is higher than the avoided cost of corresponding utility generators, because IPPs located on demand sides can reduce the transmission power loss in the electric power system, 3) Break-even cost is affected by available capacity of utility generators, especially for the peak-type IPP generating only during peak demand periods. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 133(2): 20–30, 2000 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is one of the most serious issues in today's world. Various innovative technologies have been proposed for the reduction of CO2 emissions and the mitigation of global warming. They include (1) the WENET project, inaugurated in 1993 by the government of Japan, in which electricity produced by photovoltaic systems in vast areas such as the Sahara Desert, or by hydropower systems, is converted to hydrogen for transport to demand sites, and (2) Steinberg's Hydrocarb process, in which fossil fuels and biomass are coprocessed to produce carbon and methanol. While Japan is resource-poor, it is located relatively close to Southeast Asia and Australia, which are large regions with abundant solar energy. This paper describes an investigation of the prospects for the adoption of these innovative technologies by Japan and surrounding resource regions in the next 30 to 40 years. An optimizing energy model is developed for the purpose, and the simulation results provide several interesting suggestions regarding Japan's future strategy for combating global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The future demand for electricity is uncertain and difficult to forecast, but it is necessary to do so in order to construct power plants. In that sense, a large-scale power plant is disadvantageous because it takes a long time to construct. On the other hand, although it takes less time to construct, a small-scale power plant is more expensive. Therefore large- and small-scale power plants could complement the disadvantages of each other. This paper develops a stochastic dynamic programming model to investigate the possibility. The model determines the capacities of large- and small-scale power plants in the face of uncertain demand to minimize the expected value of the total cost. Computed results have shown that small-scale plants can play a significant role in this case even if they are more expensive than large-scale plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]