HOW GOVERNORS, STATE LEGISLATURES, AND PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSIONS CAN ENSURE PLUMMETING SOLAR, WIND, AND BATTERY COSTS ACCELERATE OUR CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE

The 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 projects that this transition could support 530,000 net new energy jobs annually and reduce economy-wide emissions by 27 percent without increasing customer bills. The document provides a set of policy recommendations for state-level officials, including the adoption of Clean Energy Standards, prohibitions on new natural gas investment, and the creation of ratepayer-backed bonds to securitize uneconomic fossil fuel assets.

• The United States can achieve 90 percent zero carbon electricity by 2035 without increasing current customer electricity bills, potentially reducing economy-wide emissions by 27 percent and avoiding up to 85,000 premature deaths from fossil fuel emissions by 2050.
• Transitioning to a 90 percent zero carbon electricity system over 15 years could involve $1.7 trillion in investment and support a net increase of 530,000 energy sector jobs every year.
• The proposed transition requires that no new fossil fuel power plants be built and that all existing coal plants are retired by 2035.

APA

AGGARWAL, S., & O’BOYLE, M. (2020). HOW GOVERNORS, STATE LEGISLATURES, AND PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSIONS 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-State-Policymakers_June-2020.pdf

Chicago

AGGARWAL, SONIA, and MIKE O’BOYLE. HOW GOVERNORS, STATE LEGISLATURES, AND PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSIONS 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-State-Policymakers_June-2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=AGGARWAL |first1=SONIA |last2=O’BOYLE |first2=MIKE |title=HOW GOVERNORS, STATE LEGISLATURES, AND PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSIONS 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-State-Policymakers_June-2020.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{aggarwal2020how, author = {AGGARWAL, SONIA and O’BOYLE, MIKE}, title = {{HOW GOVERNORS, STATE LEGISLATURES, AND PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSIONS 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-State-Policymakers_June-2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }