Second-order cone programming based revenue optimization model for a cross-regional power generation corporation considering internal carbon synergy among subsidiaries

Carbon management of enterprises plays a crucial role in emission reduction. Existing research on carbon management at the corporation level often overlooks the differences in marginal carbon emission revenues due to the varying regions and industries of the subsidiary. This study addresses the gaps by introducing an internal carbon synergy model for cross-regional corporations. Unlike subsidiaries that directly participate in their respective regional carbon markets, the proposed model first enables resource sharing within the corporation, thereby accounting for regional differences in carbon costs and achieving profit maximization at the corporate level. A method to estimate the improvement in corporation revenue resulting from this model is also provided. Further, taking a power generation corporation as an example, an integrated electricity–carbon model is constructed, incorporating internal carbon and electricity synergies among subsidiaries within the corporation, to re-optimize the production plan while fulfilling power generation tasks. Moreover, the paper provides a rigorous theoretical proof of the proposed model's superiority, and the case study examines the mechanism of the proposed internal carbon synergy model and evaluates how the model enhances the corporation's overall carbon management.