# Optimization of Electricity Generation Technologies to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Egypt
Previous studies that employed the model for energy supply strategy alternatives and their general environmental impacts (MESSAGE) code to develop long-term energy plans for optimization have been conducted in different countries. Syria used the MESSAGE tool to devise the best long-term energy supply strategy. Syria's future energy and electricity demand was projected based on a variety of scenarios that reflected its future socioeconomic and technological development trends over the next 30 years [10]. The results from that study revealed that primary energy will increase at an average annual rate of 4.8% to 68 Mtoe by 2030, and the total installed capacity will optimally increase from 6885 to 19,500 MW by 2030. The study further predicted that the future national energy system will mainly depend on oil and NG with limited renewable energy and nuclear power contributions at the end of the research period to guarantee supply availability. The adoption of nuclear power was determined to be the best long-term electric-power strategy for Saudi Arabia [11]. The study confirmed that Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Jordan were likely to adopt nuclear technology but categorized Saudi Arabia as a \"nuclear-power state\" and did not directly mention specific nuclear-power development plans. Using the MESSAGE code, the authors predicted that Saudi Arabia will be expected to experience power shortages by 2025, and these shortages will last up to 2035 when the existing power plants will be restored. The model projected that renewable and nuclear power technologies will be the most competitive future strategies for Saudi Arabia's power supply by 2050. An analysis of the long-term energy plan for Korea using MESSAGE for energy optimization was conducted to compare three scenarios: the current existing scenario, strengthening the low-carbon power mix, and expanding renewable-energy sources to assess long-term energy plans. The results indicated that nuclear and coal power generations were reliable energy sources, and they were the primary energy sources in the three scenarios. However, coal power plants may not be ideal as potential energy sources because of the recent policy changes around the world that promote low-carbon and environment-friendly energy sources [12]. External cost refers to the economic concept of uncompensated social or environmental effects. For example, when individuals buy fuel for a car, they pay for the generation of the fuel (an internal cost) but not for the pollution because of this fuel. The simplified approach for estimating environmental impacts of electricity generation (SIMPACTS) evaluates the damage cost produced by electrical power plants. A study on the environmental effect of conventional power plants under normal and accidental conditions was conducted in Egypt. That work dealt with meteorological parameters, simulated the dispersion of pollutants from season to season, and calculated the concentration of pollutants emitted from two stacks from the Damanhur power plant in Egypt [13]. AIRPACKTS predicted the seasonal dispersion of pollutants from two stacks in the Damanhur power plant in Alexandria, Egypt. This factory mainly uses NG as fuel, and the most potent pollutants emitted from the power-plant stack were nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfides, and particulate matter. Another study assessed the externalities from electric power plants in the Mexico City metropolitan area. An original method was developed to use the impact-pathway analysis of SIMPACTS to estimate the damage costs in this case. The estimate showed that the total annual cost was 71 million USD. A similar study on the damage costs of Syrian electricity generation was conducted using the impact-pathway analysis. The results indicated that the environmental effects can add considerable external costs to the typical generation cost in which the externalities varied between USD 2.5 and 0.07 per generated kilowatt-hour. A study was conducted in Korea to assess the effects on human health from nuclear power plants.