4. Conclusions and policy implications
This study adopted the LCA and cost accounting theory to evaluate China's coal-fired power generation technology. The emissions with the greatest environmental impact were CO2, CO, SO2, TSP, COD, and boiler ash. The contribution rates to environmental impact of smoke and dust was the highest, accounting for 63.33%. The environmental impact was different at different stages of the life cycle of coal-fired power generation. The mid-point impact category of global warming had the greatest impact in the coal mining stage and power generation stages, whereas smoke and dust had great impact in the coal washing and transportation stages. The resource consumption cost per 1 MWh production of power in the life cycle of coal-fired generation was approximately $46.01. The emissions generated by coal, gasoline, diesel, water and steel had relatively high resource consumption costs. The external environmental cost per 1 MWh production of power in the life cycle of coal-fired generation was approximately $22.90, while the proportions of costs of air pollution, water pollution and solid waste pollution were 96.42%, 2.12%, and 1.46%, respectively. There were also great differences in the resource consumption cost and external environmental cost at different stages. The resource consumption and external environmental costs were the highest in the power generation stage.
