Environmental and economic multi-objective optimization of comprehensive energy industry: A case study

Abstract Coal will continue to dominate the energy structure for a long time, however, the severe environmental issues require that coal should be cleanly and efficiently utilized. This work proposes to carry out integrated research on the optimization model of the coal and new energy-based industrial structure at the enterprise level. To meet the low-carbon requirements, a multi-objective superstructure optimization model of the coal and new energy-based energy structure under a variety of constraints is constructed, while the carbon emissions and total profits are selected as the objectives simultaneously. Then a case study is conducted with the industrial structure of a representative energy company as the study object. Via self-developed mixed programming to achieve the optimal solution of Pareto-frontier, this study analyzed the energy industry adjustment and layout optimization under three different scenarios. The turning point with the emission reduction rate of 2 % is recommended as the optimal choice under the baseline scenario, and new energy power generation has become a new growth point of the group's profits after adjusting the investment structure. Comparisons between the coal and new energy power generation prices will seriously affect the optimization and prediction results of the low-carbon scenario. The annual profit in 2020 will decrease significantly under the epidemic situation, but the change rules of emissions and profits are basically consistent with the baseline scenario. The research methods and quantitative results could be generalized for relevant comprehensive energy companies to adjust their strategic layout and make plans.