STUDIES AGREE 80 PERCENT CLEAN ELECTRICITY BY 2030 WOULD SAVE LIVES AND CREATE JOBS AT MINIMAL COST

This report presents a meta-analysis of 11 studies published since 2020 regarding the feasibility and impact of achieving approximately 80 percent clean electricity in the United States by 2030. The analysis concludes that such a transition is affordable, feasible, and critical for meeting national climate goals, while providing significant public health and economic benefits without compromising grid reliability.

• Achieving approximately 80 percent clean electricity by 2030 is considered affordable, with various studies indicating minimal impact on consumer costs. Three studies found that wholesale electricity costs in 2030 would range from 4 percent lower to 3 percent higher than current prices, while three other studies estimated that retail electricity bills would increase by less than 4 percent by 2030.
• Ambitious clean electricity policies are projected to create significant economic growth, specifically driving a net increase of 500,000 to 1 million new jobs annually. These policies are also expected to attract hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars in new clean energy investments.
• Reaching roughly 70 to 80 percent clean electricity is identified as a requirement for the United States to meet the Biden administration's target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
• Strong federal clean electricity policies would yield substantial public health improvements by avoiding 14,500 to 50,000 premature deaths by 2030 or 2035, and 85,000 to 317,000 premature deaths by 2050. The combined economic value of avoided health and climate damages is estimated between $150 billion and $705 billion through 2030 or 2035, and $1 trillion to $3 trillion by 2050.
• The most cost-effective path to high clean electricity penetration relies almost exclusively on new wind, solar, and battery storage. To reach 80 to 90 percent clean electricity by 2030-2035, the U.S. would need to build 50 GW to 100 GW of new wind and solar annually, and up to 23 GW of new battery storage annually, which is two to three times the 2020 record of 31 GW.
• The analyzed studies collectively indicate that a power system with 70 to 90 percent clean electricity would remain dependable and able to match supply and demand, even under stressful weather and demand conditions.

APA

ESPOSITO, D. (2021). STUDIES AGREE 80 PERCENT CLEAN ELECTRICITY BY 2030 WOULD SAVE LIVES AND CREATE JOBS AT MINIMAL COST. Energy Innovation. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Studies-Agree-80-Percent-Clean-Electricity-by-2030-Would-Save-Lives-and-Create-Jobs-at-Minimal-Cost.pdf

Chicago

ESPOSITO, DAN. STUDIES AGREE 80 PERCENT CLEAN ELECTRICITY BY 2030 WOULD SAVE LIVES AND CREATE JOBS AT MINIMAL COST. Energy Innovation, 2021. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Studies-Agree-80-Percent-Clean-Electricity-by-2030-Would-Save-Lives-and-Create-Jobs-at-Minimal-Cost.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=ESPOSITO |first1=DAN |title=STUDIES AGREE 80 PERCENT CLEAN ELECTRICITY BY 2030 WOULD SAVE LIVES AND CREATE JOBS AT MINIMAL COST |publisher=Energy Innovation |date=September 2021 |url=https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Studies-Agree-80-Percent-Clean-Electricity-by-2030-Would-Save-Lives-and-Create-Jobs-at-Minimal-Cost.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{esposito2021studies, author = {ESPOSITO, DAN}, title = {{STUDIES AGREE 80 PERCENT CLEAN ELECTRICITY BY 2030 WOULD SAVE LIVES AND CREATE JOBS AT MINIMAL COST}}, institution = {Energy Innovation}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Studies-Agree-80-Percent-Clean-Electricity-by-2030-Would-Save-Lives-and-Create-Jobs-at-Minimal-Cost.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }