Benefits of a 15 Percent by 2020 National Renewable Electricity Standard

The Union of Concerned Scientists analysis indicates that a 15 percent by 2020 national renewable electricity standard would reduce consumer energy costs, increase renewable energy capacity, and lower power plant CO2 emissions in the United States.

• A 15 percent national renewable electricity standard would lead to significant cumulative savings on electricity and natural gas bills for consumers. In a 'higher renewable energy case', savings would reach $13 billion by 2020 and $27.7 billion by 2030, with residential households saving $8.6 billion, commercial customers $12.6 billion, and industrial customers $6.5 billion. In a 'lower renewable energy case'—which assumes more energy efficiency—cumulative savings would increase to $18.1 billion by 2020 and $31.8 billion by 2030.
• The policy would substantially increase the United States' renewable power generating capacity. Under the higher renewable energy case, capacity would grow to over 91,000 megawatts (MW) by 2020, which is 4.5 times the 2005 level of approximately 20,000 MW. This growth would be driven by solar, wind, geothermal, and bioenergy, providing enough electricity for nearly 68 million typical U.S. homes.
• Implementing the standard would reduce reliance on fossil fuels and lower greenhouse gas emissions. By 2020, the higher renewable energy case would reduce power plant CO2 emissions by 126 million metric tons (MMT) per year, equivalent to removing 20.6 million cars from the road. The lower renewable energy case would result in a reduction of 84 MMT per year by 2020. Additionally, the standard could displace up to 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 242 million short tons of coal by 2020 compared to business as usual.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2007). Benefits of a 15 Percent by 2020 National Renewable Electricity Standard. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/cashing-in-national-15.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Benefits of a 15 Percent by 2020 National Renewable Electricity Standard. 2007. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/cashing-in-national-15.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Benefits of a 15 Percent by 2020 National Renewable Electricity Standard |date=October 2007 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/cashing-in-national-15.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2007benefits, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Benefits of a 15 Percent by 2020 National Renewable Electricity Standard}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2007}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/cashing-in-national-15.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }