HOW FERC AND RTO/ISO OPERATORS CAN ENSURE PLUMMETING SOLAR, WIND, AND BATTERY COSTS ACCELERATE OUR CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE

The policy brief outlines a pathway for the U.S. to reach 90 percent zero carbon electricity by 2035, leveraging falling costs of solar, wind, and batteries. It asserts that this transition could support $1.7 trillion in investment and 530,000 annual energy jobs without increasing customer bills. However, it warns that without policy intervention, zero carbon sources would only reach 53 percent by 2035. The authors propose specific regulatory actions for FERC and RTO/ISOs, including simplifying interconnection rules, reforming transmission cost allocation, enhancing energy price signals, and reducing reliance on capacity markets.

• The U.S. can achieve 90 percent zero carbon electricity by 2035 without increasing 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.
• Transitioning to a 90 percent zero carbon system by 2035 would require the retirement of all existing coal plants and could facilitate $1.7 trillion in investment and a net increase of 530,000 energy sector jobs annually.
• In the absence of policy interventions, zero carbon electricity sources are projected to comprise only 53 percent of the nation's electricity by 2035.
• To accelerate the clean energy transition, FERC and RTO/ISOs should reform transmission and market rules, specifically by simplifying interconnection, improving cost allocation for transmission, reducing dependence on capacity markets, and enhancing price signals for flexibility and scarcity.

APA

AGGARWAL, S., & O’BOYLE, M. (2020). HOW FERC AND RTO/ISO OPERATORS 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-FERC-RTOs-ISOs_June-2020.pdf

Chicago

AGGARWAL, SONIA, and MIKE O’BOYLE. HOW FERC AND RTO/ISO OPERATORS 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-FERC-RTOs-ISOs_June-2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=AGGARWAL |first1=SONIA |last2=O’BOYLE |first2=MIKE |title=HOW FERC AND RTO/ISO OPERATORS 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-FERC-RTOs-ISOs_June-2020.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{aggarwal2020how, author = {AGGARWAL, SONIA and O’BOYLE, MIKE}, title = {{HOW FERC AND RTO/ISO OPERATORS 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-FERC-RTOs-ISOs_June-2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }