Comparison of CO2 Abatement Costs in the United States for Various Low and No Carbon Resources

The report uses 2013 EIA Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) data to compare the cost per ton of CO2 abated for technologies including wind, solar, advanced nuclear, and carbon capture and storage (CCS). It finds that displacing coal plants offers the strongest economic case for abatement. While on-shore wind is the cheapest overall, greenfield gas with CCS is a competitive baseload option at $65 per ton. The analysis notes that variable resources like wind and solar may be more expensive than shown due to omitted grid integration costs, which can double or triple marginal costs at penetration levels above 20%.

• Displacing coal power plants is the most economically advantageous scenario for CO2 abatement on a dollar per ton basis. This is attributed to lower variable O&M costs and the "multiplying effect of deep emission cuts" when compared to displacing natural gas plants, which already have emissions that are on average 60% lower.
• On-shore wind is identified as the cheapest abatement option per dollar per ton. Among baseload options, greenfield gas power plants with 90% carbon capture are competitive at $65 per ton of CO2 abated, outperforming solar PV, solar thermal, and offshore wind.
• Advanced nuclear is described as highly competitive from an economic perspective, while coal CCS is less competitive due to significantly higher fixed O&M and capital costs.
• The reported costs for variable generation (wind and solar) likely underestimate actual expenses because the EIA LCOE does not include grid integration costs such as spinning reserve, balancing capacity, and transmission. These additional costs may double or triple marginal costs once grid penetration exceeds 20% of total energy production.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Comparison of CO2 Abatement Costs in the United States for Various Low and No Carbon Resources. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/21093630/CO2_Abatement_cost_comparison.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Comparison of CO2 Abatement Costs in the United States for Various Low and No Carbon Resources. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/21093630/CO2_Abatement_cost_comparison.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Comparison of CO2 Abatement Costs in the United States for Various Low and No Carbon Resources |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/21093630/CO2_Abatement_cost_comparison.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforcendcomparison, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Comparison of CO2 Abatement Costs in the United States for Various Low and No Carbon Resources}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/21093630/CO2_Abatement_cost_comparison.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }