Air quality impacts of distributed power generation in the South Coast Air Basin of California 1: Scenario development and modeling analysis
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Date
2006
Authors
Rodriguez, Marco A.
Carreras-Sospedra, Marc
Medrano Martorell, Marc
Brouwer, Jack
Samuelsen, G. Scott
Dabdub, Donald
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Abstract
Distributed generation (DG) is generally defined as the operation of many small stationary power generators throughout
an urban air basin. Although DG has the potential to supply a significant portion of the increased power demands in
California and the rest of the United States, it may lead to increased levels of in-basin pollutants and adversely impact
urban air quality. This study focuses on two main objectives: (1) the systematic characterization of DG installation in
urban air basins, and (2) the simulation of potential air quality impacts using a state-of-the-art three-dimensional
computational model. A general and systematic approach is devised to construct five realistic and 21 spanning scenarios of
DG implementation in the South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB) of California. Realistic scenarios reflect an anticipated level of
DG deployment in the SoCAB by the year 2010. Spanning scenarios are developed to determine the potential impacts of
unexpected outcomes. Realistic implementations of DG in the SoCAB result in small differences in ozone and particulate
matter concentrations in the basin compared to the baseline simulations. The baseline accounts for population increase,
but does not consider any future emissions control measures. Model results for spanning implementations with extra high
DG market penetration show that domain-wide ozone peak concentrations increase significantly. Also, air quality impacts
of spanning implementations when DG operate during a 6-h period are larger than when the same amount of emissions are
introduced during a 24-h period
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Journal or Serie
Atmospheric Environment, 2006, vol. 40, núm. 28, p. 5508-5521