We need clean firm electricity for a decarbonized energy system

The document advocates for a diverse energy mix that includes 'clean firm power'—non-weather-dependent zero-carbon sources—to complement wind, solar, and battery storage. It argues that relying solely on variable renewables would lead to excessive costs, land use, and infrastructure requirements, while a diversified approach could significantly reduce the time and cost of the energy transition.

• Decarbonizing the United States grid requires a twofold effort: replacing unabated fossil fuel systems and filling the gap from retiring nuclear plants, while simultaneously increasing capacity to meet rising demand from electrification in industrial, commercial, residential, and transportation sectors. This combined challenge would require eight times the current generation from zero-carbon sources.
• Clean firm power—including nuclear energy, geothermal energy, hydrogen combustion, and biomass or gas with carbon capture—is necessary because wind and solar are weather-dependent and cannot match electricity load on demand. Integrating these firm sources reduces the need for over-built renewable capacity, which would otherwise lead to significant curtailment, increased land use, and higher demand for critical minerals.
• A grid relying exclusively on variable renewables would require prohibitively expensive long-duration storage and extensive new transmission infrastructure. For example, a study in California indicated that a system based only on dispersed variable sources would triple the required amount of transmission lines compared to a system utilizing clean firm power like nuclear energy.

APA

Abrahams, L. (2023). We need clean firm electricity for a decarbonized energy system. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2023/05/we-need-clean-firm-electricity-decarbonized-energy-system/

Chicago

Abrahams, Leslie. We need clean firm electricity for a decarbonized energy system. Clean Air Task Force, 2023. https://www.catf.us/2023/05/we-need-clean-firm-electricity-decarbonized-energy-system/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Abrahams |first1=Leslie |title=We need clean firm electricity for a decarbonized energy system |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=19 May 2023 |url=https://www.catf.us/2023/05/we-need-clean-firm-electricity-decarbonized-energy-system/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{abrahams2023need, author = {Abrahams, Leslie}, title = {{We need clean firm electricity for a decarbonized energy system}}, publisher = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://www.catf.us/2023/05/we-need-clean-firm-electricity-decarbonized-energy-system/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }