The average daily carbon savings
are also calculated for the simulated cases of this study.
Estimations of carbon savings are particularly important
for the area of Ningbo and the surrounding cities since the
electricity is mostly generated from coal power stations
and the availability of already installed renewable energy
generation systems in the area is low. The conversion rate
between energy (kWh) generated by electricity and carbon
dioxide emissions in China is taken from 2010 data as 0.766 kg
of CO2 per kWh of electricity consumed when renewable
energy sources are also included in the estimated conversion
factor (IEA 2012). The conversion factor has also been
estimated for China to be 0.967 kg of CO2 per kWh of
electricity consumed when only coal is assumed to be the fuel
for generating electricity (IEA 2012). Given that Ningbo’s
electricity demand is mainly covered by coal power stations
the conversion factor of 0.967 kg of CO2 per kWh of electricity
can be used in Tables 1 and 2 to calculate the average daily
carbon savings from the application of green roofs on the
cases of this study.