Electricity market mechanism with contribution metric based on Stackelberg game considering fairness and decarbonization

The global transition towards low-carbon economies necessitates innovative electricity market mechanisms that ensure fairness and efficiency amidst increasing renewable energy integration. A primary challenge is reconciling market fairness with decarbonization objectives by harmonizing heterogeneous participant groups. Existing research either rewards zero-carbon renewable generation at the expense of traditional generation or disproportionately emphasizes the grid-stabilizing role of traditional generation, neglecting emission reduction imperatives. Notably, current research lacks a systematic quantitative framework to evaluate the systemic contribution of nodes with diverse generation assets and integrate these assessments into market profit and transmission loss distribution. This paper introduces a dynamic contribution metric, classifying nodes with diverse generation assets into four categories, simultaneously evaluating their power supply capabilities and carbon emission profiles. We embed this metric within a Stackelberg game-based pricing mechanism to ensure equitable profit redistribution and integrated into a loss allocation algorithm to enhance fairness in loss distribution. Empirical studies on an enhanced IEEE 33-node distribution system demonstrate that the proposed mechanism equity achieves a market profit allocation disparity of no more than 1%, alongside an average fairness index of 80.48% in loss allocation—outperforming traditional market designs. Furthermore, the system achieves a 5.14% reduction in aggregate carbon emissions.