The data provided in this paper can be used as input data to develop an energy system model for Papua New Guinea. As an illustration, these data were used to develop an energy system model using the cost-optimization tool OSeMOSYS for the period 2015-2050. For reference, that model is described in Appendix A and its datafiles are available as Supplementary Materials. Figure 1 shows a zero-order model of the production of electricity by technology over the period 2020 to 2050 for a least cost energy future. This is purely illustrative. Using the data described in this article, the analyst can reproduce this, as well as many other scenarios, such as net-zero by 2050, in a variety of energy planning toolkits.
The data provided were collected from publicly available sources, including the reports of international organizations, journal articles and existing model databases. The dataset includes the techno-economic parameters of supply-side technologies, installed capacities, emissions factors and final electricity demands. Below shows the different items and their description, in order of appearance, presented in this article.
1.1 Existing Electricity Supply System
The total power generation capacity in Papua New Guinea is estimated at 956.73 MW in 2018 [3,4,5,6]. The estimated existing power generation capacity is detailed in Table 1 below [3,4,5,6]. The methods used to calculate these estimates are described in more detail in Section 2.1.
Table 1: Installed Power Plants Capacity in Papua New Guinea [3,4,5,6]
Electricity Generation Technology
|
Estimated Installed Capacity (MW)
|
2015
|
2016
|
2017
|
2018
|
Geothermal Power Plant
|
56.0
|
56.0
|
56.0
|
56.0
|
Light Fuel Oil Power Plant
|
331.9
|
331.9
|
331.9
|
331.9
|
Oil Fired Gas Turbine (SCGT)
|
30.0
|
30.0
|
30.0
|
30.0
|
Gas Power Plant (SCGT)
|
186.2
|
186.2
|
186.2
|
186.2
|
Medium Hydropower Plant (10-100MW)
|
271.0
|
271.0
|
271.0
|
271.0
|
Small Hydropower Plant (<10MW)
|
4.0
|
4.0
|
4.0
|
4.0
|
Off-grid Solar PV
|
0.88
|
1.23
|
1.23
|
1.23
|
Off-grid Hydropower
|
76.4
|
76.4
|
76.4
|
76.4
|
Total Capacity
|
956.38
|
956.73
|
956.73
|
956.73
|
1.2 Techno-economic Data for Electricity Generation Technologies
The techno-economic parameters of electricity generation technologies are presented in Table 2, including costs, operational lives, efficiencies and average capacity factors. Cost (capital and fixed), operational life and efficiency data are based on reports by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the ASEAN Centre for Clean Energy (ACE) [7,8] and are applicable to South East Asia, here extrapolated to Papua New Guinea. Projected cost reductions for renewable energy technologies were estimated by applying the cost reduction trends from a 2021 IRENA report focussing on Africa [9] to these Asia-specific current cost estimates. These projections are presented in Table 3. The cost and performance of parameters of fossil electricity generation technologies are assumed constant over the modelling period. Country-specific capacity factors for solar PV, wind and hydropower technologies in Papua New Guinea were sourced from Renewables Ninja and the PLEXOS-World 2015 Model Dataset [3,10,11], as well as an NREL dataset [12]. Capacity factors for other technologies were sourced from IRENA and ACE [7] and are applicable to Asia. Average capacity factors were calculated for each technology and presented in the table below, with daytime (6am - 6pm) averages presented for solar PV technologies. For more information on the capacity factor data, refer to Section 2.1.
Table 2: Techno-economic parameters of electricity generation technologies [3,7,8,9,10,11,12]
Technology
|
Capital Cost ($/kW in 2020)
|
Fixed Cost ($/kW/yr in 2020)
|
Operational Life (years)
|
Efficiency
|
Average Capacity Factor
|
Biomass Power Plant
|
2750.0
|
69.0
|
25
|
0.38
|
0.7
|
Coal Power Plant
|
1300.0
|
52.0
|
60
|
0.3
|
0.75
|
Geothermal Power Plant
|
2500.0
|
100.0
|
50
|
0.1
|
0.7
|
Light Fuel Oil Power Plant
|
1200.0
|
18.0
|
50
|
0.4
|
0.25
|
Oil Fired Gas Turbine (SCGT)
|
1344.0
|
18.0
|
50
|
0.4
|
0.25
|
Gas Power Plant (CCGT)
|
1000.0
|
40.0
|
30
|
0.55
|
0.55
|
Gas Power Plant (SCGT)
|
784.0
|
23.0
|
30
|
0.35
|
0.55
|
Solar PV (Utility)
|
1160.0
|
15.08
|
30
|
1.0
|
0.27
|
CSP with Storage
|
4965.31
|
120.0
|
35
|
0.33
|
0.3
|
Large Hydropower Plant (Dam) (>100MW)
|
1539.0
|
46.17
|
40
|
1.0
|
0.38
|
Medium Hydropower Plant (10-100MW)
|
1592.86
|
47.79
|
40
|
1.0
|
0.38
|
Small Hydropower Plant (<10MW)
|
2162.0
|
64.86
|
40
|
1.0
|
0.38
|
Onshore Wind
|
2220.09
|
88.8
|
30
|
1.0
|
0.11
|
Offshore Wind
|
2876.21
|
115.05
|
30
|
1.0
|
0.24
|
Nuclear Power Plant
|
5500.0
|
138.0
|
60
|
0.33
|
0.83
|
Light Fuel Oil Standalone Generator (1kW)
|
1500.0
|
38.0
|
20
|
0.42
|
0.4
|
Solar PV (Distributed with Storage)
|
2130.8
|
42.62
|
24
|
1.0
|
0.27
|
Table 3: Projected costs of renewable energy technologies for selected years to 2050. [7,8,9]
Renewable Energy Technology
|
Capital Cost ($/kW)
|
2015
|
2020
|
2025
|
2030
|
2040
|
2050
|
Biomass Power Plant
|
2750.0
|
2750.0
|
2750.0
|
2750.0
|
2750.0
|
2750.0
|
Solar PV (Utility)
|
1822.5
|
1160.0
|
828.33
|
745.83
|
608.62
|
608.62
|
CSP with Storage
|
7404.71
|
4965.31
|
4000.0
|
3223.13
|
3134.9
|
3134.9
|
Large Hydropower Plant (Dam) (>100MW)
|
1539.0
|
1539.0
|
1539.0
|
1539.0
|
1539.0
|
1539.0
|
Medium Hydropower Plant (10-100MW)
|
1592.86
|
1592.86
|
1592.86
|
1592.86
|
1592.86
|
1592.86
|
Small Hydropower Plant (<10MW)
|
2162.0
|
2162.0
|
2162.0
|
2162.0
|
2162.0
|
2162.0
|
Onshore Wind
|
2959.63
|
2220.09
|
1775.78
|
1620.71
|
1391.1
|
1391.1
|
Offshore Wind
|
3620.25
|
2876.21
|
2187.28
|
1773.92
|
1647.21
|
1520.5
|
Solar PV (Distributed with Storage)
|
3502.0
|
2130.8
|
1880.8
|
1755.8
|
1690.8
|
1625.8
|
1.3 Techno-economic Data for Power Transmission and Distribution
The combined losses in electricity transmission and distribution in Papua New Guinea are estimated based on information provided by the Renewable Energy and Efficiency Partnership [13]. It was then assumed that combined losses would be reduced to 5% by 2050, falling in a linear fashion. Combined transmission and distribution efficiency in Papua New Guinea is therefore assumed to reach 92.0% and 95.0% in 2030 and 2050 respectively. The combined costs of power tansmission and distribution are estimated based on a report by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) [14], which gives cost estimates for several real-life projects in ASEAN. For more detail, see section 2.In the following table, the techno-economic parameters associated with the transmission and distribution network are presented.
Table 4: Techno-economic parameters for transmission and distribution [13,14]
Technology
|
Capital Cost ($/kW, 2020)
|
Fixed Cost ($/kw/yr, 2020)
|
Operational Life (years)
|
Combined Efficiency (2020)
|
Combined Efficiency (2030)
|
Combined Efficiency (2050)
|
Electricity Transmission and Distribution
|
306.39
|
6.13
|
50
|
0.9
|
0.92
|
0.95
|
1.4 Techno-economic Data for Refineries
Papua New Guinea has an estimated 37kb/d domestic refinery capacity [15]. In the OSeMOSYS model, two oil refinery technologies were made available for investment in the future, each with different output activity ratios for Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) and Light Fuel Oil (LFO). The technoeconomic data for these technologies are shown in Table 5.
Table 5: Techno-economic parameters for refinery technologies [15,16]
Technology
|
Capital Cost ($/kW in 2020)
|
Variable Cost ($/GJ in 2020)
|
Operational Life (years)
|
Output Ratio
|
Crude Oil Refinery Option 1
|
24.1
|
0.71775
|
35
|
0.9 LFO : 0.1 HFO
|
Crude Oil Refinery Option 2
|
24.1
|
0.71775
|
35
|
0.8 LFO : 0.2 HFO
|
1.5 Fuel Prices
Assumed costs are provided for both imported and domestically-extracted fuels. The fuel price projections until 2050 are presented below. These are estimates based on cost estimates produced by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and ERIA [17.18], with an international average biomass price in 2020 assumed for imported biomass [19]. More detail is provided in Section 2.2.
Table 6: Fuel price projections to 2050 [17,18,19]
Commodity
|
Fuel Price ($/GJ)
|
2015
|
2020
|
2025
|
2030
|
2040
|
2050
|
Crude Oil Imports
|
6.27
|
13.95
|
15.12
|
16.29
|
19.84
|
21.33
|
Crude Oil Extraction
|
5.7
|
12.68
|
13.75
|
14.81
|
18.03
|
19.39
|
Biomass Imports
|
5.55
|
5.55
|
5.55
|
5.55
|
5.55
|
5.55
|
Biomass Extraction
|
1.34
|
1.34
|
1.34
|
1.34
|
1.34
|
1.34
|
Coal Imports
|
2.38
|
3.03
|
3.09
|
3.15
|
3.53
|
3.61
|
Coal Extraction
|
2.16
|
2.72
|
2.77
|
2.82
|
3.18
|
3.25
|
Light Fuel Oil Imports
|
6.83
|
15.21
|
16.49
|
17.77
|
21.64
|
23.26
|
Heavy Fuel Oil Imports
|
5.99
|
13.3
|
14.43
|
15.55
|
18.94
|
20.35
|
Natural Gas Imports
|
5.71
|
9.98
|
10.17
|
10.37
|
10.72
|
10.75
|
Natural Gas Extraction
|
5.16
|
8.98
|
9.16
|
9.34
|
9.65
|
9.67
|
1.6 Emission Factors
Fossil fuel technologies emit several greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides throughout their operational lifetime. In this analysis, only carbon dioxide emissions are considered. These are accounted for using carbon dioxide emission factors assigned to each fuel, rather than each power generation technology. The assumed emission factors are presented in Table 7.
Table 7: Fuel-specific CO2 Emission Factors [20]
Fuel
|
CO2 Emission Factor (kg CO2/GJ)
|
Crude oil
|
73.3
|
Biomass
|
100
|
Coal
|
94.6
|
Light Fuel Oil
|
69.3
|
Heavy Fuel Oil
|
77.4
|
Natural Gas
|
56.1
|
1.7 Renewable and Fossil Fuel Reserves
Tables 8 and 9 show estimated domestic renewable energy potentials and fossil fuel reserves respectively in Papua New Guinea.
Table 8: Estimated Renewable Energy Potentials [12,21,22,23]
|
Unit
|
Estimated Renewable Energy Potential
|
Solar Resource
|
TWh/yr
|
1243
|
Onshore Wind
|
TWh/yr
|
697.38
|
Offshore Wind
|
TWh/yr
|
1792.05
|
Medium & Large Hydropower
|
MW
|
4000
|
Small Hydropower (<10 MW)
|
MW
|
153
|
Geothermal
|
MW
|
800
|
Table 9: Estimated Fossil Fuel Reserves [17]
|
Proven Reserves
|
Coal (million tonnes)
|
0.0
|
Crude Oil (billion barrels)
|
0.2
|
Natural Gas (trillion cubic metres)
|
0.19
|
1.8 Electricity Demand Projection
Final electricity demand in Papua New Guinea was estimated at 14.44 PJ in 2016 and is forecasted to reach 19.3 PJ by 2030 and 34.54 PJ by 2050 in a Business as Usual (BAU) scenario according to the APEC Energy Supply and Demand Outlook 7th Edition [17]. Figure 4 below shows the final electricity demand projection.