An urgent plan to decarbonize electricity by 2035

In an opinion piece in The Hill, Engineering and Public Policy Professors Jay Apt and Granger Morgan outline what is needed in order to achieve the Biden administration’s goal of completely decarbonizing the U.S. electricity system by 2035.

In the piece, Apt and Morgan point out that in order to decarbonize by 2035 significant steps need to be taken. Federal, state, and local officials need to start now to identify, develop and implement strategies to overcome the many impediments that this massive effort will face.

Apt and Morgan have recommended a number of different steps to take on how we can achieve decarbonization by 2035.

Today, only about 40 percent of electricity in the U.S. comes from carbon-free sources. Experts agree that it is possible that renewables can cost-effectively make up roughly 80 percent of electricity generation. The remainder can be storage and gas turbines powered with hydrogen, synfuels, or natural gas with carbon capture. Transitioning to 80 percent renewable energy by in 2035 will require at least three times the current 285 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power. That means building roughly 55 GW per year, and Apt and Morgan point out that 55 GW per year is feasible only if the right policy incentives are created and maintained. They also point out the need to build more high voltage transmission throughout the country. Apt and Morgan argue that much greater attention must also be directed to assuring the resilience of the power system. That means pursuing strategies that range from micro-grids to system hardening and strategies to assure more rapid system restoration.

Apt and Morgan assert that we can get to zero by 2035, but in order to do so, a number of significant changes need to be made to get there.

To read the full article, go here.