It's a great challenge to reduce CO2 emission effectively while not affecting the prospects for continuous and rapid growth of the power sector. Converting the traditional fossil fuel-based power generation mix to a low-carbon structure will play an important role in the process of power decarbonisation in the near future. Developing low-carbon technologies， providing economical stimulants and setting compulsory reduction targets are main options to mitigate CO2 emission， which will make a significant impact on the principles and methods of traditional power generation planning. With such an understanding， key technologies of introducing low-carbon options into the modeling of power generation planning are studied， and a new mode of power generation planning based on low-carbon target is presented. A case study is made to analyze the perspectives and features of CO2 emission in the power sector of China in different scenarios， with the reduction potential of various low-carbon options assessed at the same time. The results of this paper could be a helpful reference for cutting CO2 emission.