HOW FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS, AGENCIES, AND NATIONAL LABS CAN ENSURE PLUMMETING SOLAR, WIND, AND BATTERY COSTS ACCELERATE OUR CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE

The policy brief outlines a pathway for the United States to reach 90 percent zero carbon electricity by 2035, noting that this transition could support 530,000 annual energy sector jobs and reduce economy-wide emissions by 27 percent without increasing electricity bills. It warns that without policy intervention, zero carbon sources would only reach 53 percent by 2035. The authors propose a series of actions for federal entities, including the EPA requiring state decarbonization plans, the DOE expanding low-cost capital for domestic manufacturing, and the DOL creating a Just Transitions Office to support fossil fuel-dependent communities.

• The U.S. can achieve 90 percent zero carbon electricity by 2035 without increasing current customer electricity bills, which would result in a 27 percent reduction in economy-wide emissions and avoid up to 85,000 premature deaths from fossil fuel emissions by 2050.
• A transition to 90 percent zero carbon electricity could attract $1.7 trillion in investment and create a net increase of 530,000 energy sector jobs annually, provided all existing coal plants are retired by 2035 and no new fossil fuel plants are built.
• In the absence of policy interventions, the share of zero carbon electricity sources in the U.S. is projected to be only 53 percent by 2035.
• To accelerate the transition, the document recommends that federal agencies take specific actions: the EPA should require state implementation plans for decarbonization; the DOE and DOI should develop national energy corridors and a land conflict database; the DOE should provide low-cost capital for domestic solar, wind, and storage manufacturing; and the DOL should establish a Just Transitions Office and labor standards to support coal communities.

APA

AGGARWAL, S., & O’BOYLE, M. (2020). HOW FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS, AGENCIES, AND NATIONAL LABS CAN ENSURE PLUMMETING SOLAR, WIND, AND BATTERY COSTS ACCELERATE OUR CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE. Energy Innovation. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/90-Clean-By-2035-Policy-For-Federal-Depts-National-Labs_June-2020.pdf

Chicago

AGGARWAL, SONIA, and MIKE O’BOYLE. HOW FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS, AGENCIES, AND NATIONAL LABS CAN ENSURE PLUMMETING SOLAR, WIND, AND BATTERY COSTS ACCELERATE OUR CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE. Energy Innovation, 2020. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/90-Clean-By-2035-Policy-For-Federal-Depts-National-Labs_June-2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=AGGARWAL |first1=SONIA |last2=O’BOYLE |first2=MIKE |title=HOW FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS, AGENCIES, AND NATIONAL LABS CAN ENSURE PLUMMETING SOLAR, WIND, AND BATTERY COSTS ACCELERATE OUR CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE |publisher=Energy Innovation |date=June 2020 |url=https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/90-Clean-By-2035-Policy-For-Federal-Depts-National-Labs_June-2020.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{aggarwal2020how, author = {AGGARWAL, SONIA and O’BOYLE, MIKE}, title = {{HOW FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS, AGENCIES, AND NATIONAL LABS CAN ENSURE PLUMMETING SOLAR, WIND, AND BATTERY COSTS ACCELERATE OUR CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE}}, institution = {Energy Innovation}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/90-Clean-By-2035-Policy-For-Federal-Depts-National-Labs_June-2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }