STUDIES CONVERGE ON BENEFITS OF A RAPID CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION

A meta-analysis of eight recent studies indicates that the United States can achieve approximately 80% clean electricity by 2030 at minimal cost. The findings suggest that such a transition would drive 500,000 to 1 million net new jobs, avoid up to $3 trillion in health and climate damages by 2050, and is essential for meeting the Biden administration's GHG emissions reduction targets. The analysis concludes that a strong national clean electricity standard (CES) is the most effective policy mechanism, primarily driving the deployment of wind, solar, and battery storage.

• Achieving a high share of clean electricity by 2030 is affordable, with wholesale electricity costs projected to range from 4 percent lower to 3 percent higher than current prices.
• Ambitious clean energy policies are projected to create between 500,000 and 1 million net new jobs per year and attract investments ranging from hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars.
• Reaching approximately 80 percent clean electricity by 2030, combined with electrification of other sectors, is necessary to meet the Biden administration's target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
• Strong federal clean electricity policy could prevent 85,000 to 300,000 premature deaths by 2050 and avoid health and climate damages between $100-250 billion by 2030-2035 and $1-3 trillion by 2050.
• The transition is technically feasible and would rely almost exclusively on wind, solar, and battery storage, requiring annual installations of 50-100 GW of wind and solar and 9-23 GW of battery storage.
• The analyzed studies suggest that a high clean electricity system would remain reliable and dependable, with some models showing renewable energy curtailment at approximately 8 percent in 2030.
• A strong Clean Electricity Standard (CES) is identified as one of the most effective tools for deep power sector decarbonization, whereas tax credit extensions alone are insufficient to meet 2030 GHG goals.

APA

ESPOSITO, D. (2021). STUDIES CONVERGE ON BENEFITS OF A RAPID CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION. Energy Innovation. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Meta-analysis-of-clean-energy-policy-models.pdf

Chicago

ESPOSITO, DAN. STUDIES CONVERGE ON BENEFITS OF A RAPID CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION. Energy Innovation, 2021. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Meta-analysis-of-clean-energy-policy-models.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=ESPOSITO |first1=DAN |title=STUDIES CONVERGE ON BENEFITS OF A RAPID CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION |publisher=Energy Innovation |date=July 2021 |url=https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Meta-analysis-of-clean-energy-policy-models.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{esposito2021studies, author = {ESPOSITO, DAN}, title = {{STUDIES CONVERGE ON BENEFITS OF A RAPID CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION}}, institution = {Energy Innovation}, year = {2021}, month = jul, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Meta-analysis-of-clean-energy-policy-models.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }