Synergistic decarbonization strategies for high-density cities and their neighboring areas: A case for Hong Kong and Guangdong's power system

Weike Peng, Yuntian Chen and Shengwei Wang

Applied Energy, 2025, vol. 396, issue C, No S0306261925009031

Abstract: To achieve carbon neutrality, high-density cities with limited natural resources are shifting from a fossil fuel-dominated generation structure to a more sustainable alternative. Regional cooperation emerges as a cost-effective solution for synergistic decarbonization, enabling mutual benefits between megacities and their hinterlands. This research investigates the potential benefits and challenges of such cooperation through a case analysis of Hong Kong and Guangdong's power systems. A novel power system evaluation framework based on real-world data at high spatiotemporal resolution is developed to analyze the supply-demand dynamics and explore suitable decarbonization scenarios for 2035. In this framework, the load demand of Hong Kong is initially introduced by simulating the electricity consumption patterns of typical buildings. Detailed modeling of 30 existing wind and solar power plants is conducted and optimal cross-border configurations are identified through supply-demand dynamics and economic performance. Scenario analysis demonstrates that enhanced regional cooperation can effectively reduce total system costs by 6.12 % to 9.73 % (approximately 2.37 to 8.56 billion USD) and annual carbon emissions by 43.66 % to 59.10 % (roughly 7479.89 to 10,125.39 ktCO2), compared to reference trajectories. Challenges to deepening regional collaboration, including substantial upfront costs, technological uncertainties, and collaborative inefficiencies, are also discussed, offering actionable insights for policymakers and stakeholders to advance cross-border decarbonization partnerships.

Keywords: Spatiotemporal modeling; Scenario analysis; Regional cooperation; Power sector; Decarbonization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261925009031
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:396:y:2025:i:c:s0306261925009031

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 405891/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.126173

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Energy is currently edited by J. Yan

More articles in Applied Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().