On the Road to 100% Renewables

The document outlines the technical framework for analyzing a transition to 100% renewable energy in U.S. Climate Alliance states. It describes the use of the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) and Distributed Generation Market Demand (dGen) models to simulate various policy scenarios, including a '100% RES scenario' and a 'Clean Electricity Standard scenario'. The methodology includes specific retirement schedules for coal plants in Michigan and Minnesota, as well as a collaboration with Greenlink Analytics to model socioeconomic impacts, including public health benefits, macroeconomic shifts in employment and GDP, and changes to household energy burdens.

• The analysis utilizes the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) 2.0 from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to model electric power-generation deployment in the contiguous United States through 2050, specifically focusing on the impact of state and federal energy policies.
• The '100% RES scenario' assumes that 24 U.S. Climate Alliance states in the contiguous United States increase their renewable electricity standards to 100% by 2035, while excluding waste-to-energy technologies from qualifying.
• A 'Clean Electricity Standard scenario' was modeled based on Biden Administration goals, assuming USCA states adopt a CES of 80 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2035, allowing nuclear, CCS with capture rates of 90 percent or more, and all renewable energy sources.
• The methodology incorporates specific coal-fired unit retirement schedules for Michigan and Minnesota; for example, in Michigan, the Monroe plant is assumed to retire in 2040 under the 'No New Policy' scenario but in 2030 under the 'Restricted Fossil Fuel' scenario.
• Public health impacts were estimated by comparing the '100% RES scenario' against the 'No New Policy scenario', focusing on mortality, asthma incidents, and workdays lost, using ReEDS projections for CO2, SO2, and NOx alongside EPA COBRA tool data for other pollutants.
• Macroeconomic analysis was conducted using the IMPLAN regional economic impact model to measure shifts in employment, income, and GDP from fossil-fuel-dependent sectors to clean energy industries, with jobs expressed as 'job-years'.
• Energy burden—the proportion of household income spent on utility bills—was calculated at the census-tract level and aggregated to the county level for Massachusetts, Michigan, and Minnesota, defining 'energy poverty' as bills exceeding 10 percent of annual income.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2022). On the Road to 100% Renewables. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/on-the-road-100-renewable-appendix_0.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. On the Road to 100% Renewables. 2022. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/on-the-road-100-renewable-appendix_0.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=On the Road to 100% Renewables |date=April 2022 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/on-the-road-100-renewable-appendix_0.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2022road, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{On the Road to 100\% Renewables}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2022}, month = apr, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/on-the-road-100-renewable-appendix_0.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }