2030 Report: Powering America’s Clean Economy

2030 Report: Powering America's Clean Economy,

A Supplemental Analysis to the 2035 Report

Read the report here

On April 26, 2021, The Goldman School released the third in a series of reports on the economic, health and jobs benefits of actions to greenhouse gas emissions in the US.  This most recent report focuses on the positive impact of aggressive electric power sector decarbonization (80 percent or more) by 2030. The 80% clean electricity grid would be crucial to reducing the 2030 economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2005 levels. 

Plummeting costs for wind and solar energy have dramatically changed the prospects for rapid, cost-effective expansion of renewable energy. At the same time, battery energy storage has become a viable option to cost-effectively integrate high levels of wind and solar generation into electricity grids.  This report uses the latest renewable energy and battery cost data to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of achieving 80 percent clean (carbon-free) electricity generation in the United States by 2030.  

The key findings of the report are:

Strong Policies Are Required to Create an 80% Clean Grid by 2030;

The 80 Percent Clean Grid Is Dependable without Coal Plants or New Natural Gas Plants, Despite Significant New Electricity Demand from Transportation Electrification;

Electricity Costs from an 80 Percent Clean Grid Do Not Increase from Today’s Costs;

The 80 Percent Clean Grid Avoids $1.7 Trillion in Health and Environmental Damages, Including 93,000 Premature Deaths, Through 2050;

Scaling-Up Renewables to Achieve 80 Percent Clean Energy by 2030 Is Feasible Despite Growing Electricity Demand; and,

The 80 Percent Clean Grid Drives Significant New Investment in All U.S. Regions