Greenhouse gas control included in environmental impact assessment management! Construction projects in the thermal power industry will be implemented from July 1^st

On May 29, 2024, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the "Technical Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Construction Projects in the Thermal Power Industry (Trial)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines"), incorporating greenhouse gas control into environmental impact assessment management and standardizing the technical methods for environmental impact assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from key industries. This guideline will be implemented from July 1, 2024.

New thermal power projects must consider the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction

The thermal power industry is the main source of atmospheric pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions. Under the "dual carbon" goal, the thermal power industry has entered a new era of green transformation. New thermal power projects must take into account the coordinated reduction of environmental pollutants and greenhouse gases, and develop a nationally unified technical guide for greenhouse gas emission environmental impact assessment of construction projects in the thermal power industry. This can constrain corporate environmental governance behavior at the same scale, benchmark against the advanced based on evaluation results, identify gaps, promote the demonstration and promotion of advanced low-carbon technology measures and management requirements, and further enhance the level of green development in the thermal power industry. At the same time, the development of a nationally unified technical guide for greenhouse gas emission environmental impact assessment of construction projects in the thermal power industry will also help further implement the pilot requirements for greenhouse gas environmental impact assessment of construction projects, and promote collaborative pollution reduction and carbon reduction of construction projects in the thermal power industry from the source.

The environmental impact assessment results are linked to the national carbon market, and the total emissions are only included in the greenhouse gas emissions during the normal production and operation stage of construction projects

Considering the continuous deepening of the construction and operation of the national carbon market, the environmental impact assessment results of greenhouse gas emissions from future construction projects can provide important data support and incremental warning for the total quota target and allocation of the national carbon market. In order to do a good job of coordination and ensure that the accounting boundary and results are both unified and comparable, this guideline divides the accounting boundary into two categories: the main boundary and the other boundaries. Among them, the main boundary is consistent with the accounting boundary of the "Guidelines for Enterprise Greenhouse Gas Emission Accounting and Reporting - Power Generation Facilities".

The Guidelines specify that greenhouse gas emissions from construction projects in the thermal power industry refer to the greenhouse gas emissions generated by all production facilities and systems at the main and other boundaries of normal production and operation, including fossil fuel combustion (design and verification fuel), desulfurization process desulfurizer (carbonate) decomposition, denitrification process denitration reducing agent (urea) hydrolysis or pyrolysis directly generated greenhouse gas emissions, as well as greenhouse gas emissions indirectly caused by the purchase of electricity and heat from outside the enterprise, taking into account the amount of greenhouse gas recycling (disposal) that has not been discharged into the environment. Among them, renovation, expansion, and relocation projects should also separately account for the greenhouse gas emissions of existing projects, the reduction of "using new to replace old" emissions, and the final emissions.

In addition, from the perspective of promoting clean transportation of bulk materials in the thermal power industry, optimizing transportation methods, and reducing environmental pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions in the whole society, we encourage the accounting of greenhouse gas emissions during the off-site transportation of bulk materials such as coal. However, these emissions are not included in the total greenhouse gas emissions of construction projects. By setting "double boundaries" for accounting, on the one hand, it serves the carbon market as a reference, and on the other hand, based on the goal of improving environmental quality, it optimizes the design and operation control conditions of pollution control facilities for newly added thermal power projects, effectively reducing environmental pollutants and greenhouse gases from the source, and enhancing collaborative capabilities.

How to conduct feasibility studies?

The Guidelines require that a technical and economic feasibility study be conducted on the proposed green energy-saving processes such as waste heat, residual pressure, and residual energy utilization, as well as technologies such as power generation flexibility improvement, peak shaving and frequency regulation collaborative control, reduction of fossil fuel consumption, and greenhouse gas capture and recycling. The effectiveness assessment should be based on the actual operating effects of similar or similar measures, and engineering test data without actual operating experience can be used. If the relevant technical measures are included in the national directory of green and low-carbon advanced technology achievements and other documents, they can be briefly explained. For those who adopt greenhouse gas capture 10 recycling and storage measures, the utilization and storage destinations and reliability of the captured greenhouse gases should also be analyzed.  

The Guidelines encourage construction projects in the thermal power industry to carry out engineering demonstrations and practices in areas such as pollution reduction and carbon reduction collaborative governance technology equipment and processes, clean energy utilization, and greenhouse gas capture and recycling through methods such as "trade in old for new".

温室气体管控纳入环评管理！火电行业建设项目7月1日起执行

2024年5月29日，生态环境部印发了《火电行业建设项目温室气体排放环境影响评价技术指南（试行）》（以下简称《指南》），将温室气体管控纳入环评管理，规范重点行业温室气体排放环境影响评价技术方法。这一指南将自2024年7月1日起施行。

新增火电项目须考虑减污降碳协同

火电行业是大气污染物和二氧化碳的主要排放源。“双碳”目标下，火电行业已经进入绿色转型新时期，新增火电项目必须统筹考虑环境污染物与温室气体的协同减排工作，制定全国统一的火电行业建设项目温室气体排放环境影响评价技术指南，能够在同一尺度上约束企业环境治理行为，根据评价结果对标先进，寻找差距，推动先进低碳技术措施和管理要求的示范应用与推广实施，进一步提升火电行业绿色发展水平。同时，制定全国统一的火电行业建设项目温室气体排放环境影响评价技术指南也有助于进一步落实建设项目温室气体环境影响评价试点要求，从源头推动火电行业建设项目协同减污降碳。

环评结果衔接全国碳市场，排放总量仅纳入建设项目正常生产运行阶段的温室气体排放量

考虑到全国碳市场建设运行的持续深入，未来建设项目温室气体排放环境影响评价结果可为全国碳市场配额总量目标及分配提供重要的数据支撑和增量预警作用，为做好统筹衔接，确保核算边界与结果既统一又有可比性，本指南将核算边界分为主要边界与其他边界两类，其中，主要边界与《企业温室气体排放核算与报告指南 发电设施》核算边界一致。

《指南》明确，火电行业建设项目温室气体排放量为正常生产运行阶段主要边界和其他边界所有生产设施和系统产生的温室气体排放量，包括化石燃料燃烧（设计和校核燃料）、脱硫过程脱硫剂（碳酸盐）分解、脱硝过程脱硝还原剂（尿素）水解或热解过程直接产生的温室气体排放量，以及企业外购入电 力和热力间接导致的温室气体排放量，并考虑温室气体回收利用（处置）未排入环境的量。其中，改建、扩建及异地迁建项目还应单独核算现有项目温室气体排放量、“以新带老”削减量及最终排放量。

此外，从推动火电行业大宗物料清洁运输、优化运输方式、减少全社会环境污染物与温室气体排放角度出发，鼓励核算煤炭等大宗物料厂外运输过程温室气体排放情况，但这部分排放量不纳入建设项目温室气体排放总量。通过设定核算“双边界”，一方面服务于碳市场，供其参考，另一方面基于环境质量改善的目标，优化新增火电项目污染治理设施的设计与运行控制条件，从源头做好环境污染物与温室气体的减排，提升协同能力。

如何开展可行性论证？

《指南》要求，对拟采取的余热、余压、余能利用等绿色节能工艺，发电灵活性改造提升、调峰调频协 同控制等技术，降低化石燃料消耗、温室气体捕集回收利用等措施开展技术经济可行性论证，其有 效性判定应以同类或同措施的实际运行效果为依据，没有实际运行经验的可利用工程化试验数据。 相关技术措施列入国家绿色低碳先进技术成果目录等文件的，可简要说明。对于采用温室气体捕集 10 回收利用与封存措施的，还应分析所捕集温室气体的利用与封存去向及可靠性。 

《指南》鼓励火电行业建设项目通过“以旧换新”等方式，在减污降碳协同治理技术装备与工艺、 清洁能源利用、温室气体捕集回收利用等方面开展工程示范与实践。