THE CARBON-CUTTING POWER OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) proposes a 'Demonstrated Growth Approach' to replace the EPA's conservative renewable energy targets in the Clean Power Plan. The UCS argues that the EPA underestimates the cost-effectiveness and deployment rates of wind and solar power. By adopting the UCS methodology, the EPA could increase the 2030 share of renewable energy in U.S. electric sales from 12 percent to 23 percent, potentially increasing total power sector emissions reductions from 30 percent to approximately 40 percent below 2005 levels. The brief asserts that these higher targets are affordable, with minimal impact on consumer electricity prices and a potential 9 percent reduction in the national average price of natural gas for the electricity sector by 2030.

• The EPA's proposed Clean Power Plan targets for renewable energy are overly conservative and fail to reflect actual deployment rates or market projections. In seven states, renewable energy generation levels in 2013 already exceeded the EPA's 2030 targets, and 17 of the 29 states with renewable electricity standards (RES) have lower targets under the EPA's plan than their own state laws require.
• The Union of Concerned Scientists proposes a 'Demonstrated Growth Approach' that uses a national benchmark growth rate of 1 percent based on 2009–2013 data, accounts for current state RES laws, and includes planned developments through 2017. This approach caps annual growth at 1.5 percent and total state renewable generation at 40 percent of electricity sales.
• Adopting the UCS Demonstrated Growth Approach would nearly double the national share of renewable energy in electricity sales by 2030, increasing it from the EPA's projected 12 percent to 23 percent. This shift could increase total CO2 emissions reductions from 30 percent below 2005 levels to approximately 40 percent by 2030.
• Higher renewable energy targets are economically viable and could lower energy costs. Analysis indicates that the UCS approach would result in a maximum annual increase of 0.3 percent in national average consumer electricity prices (approximately 18 cents per month for a typical household) and would reduce the national average price of natural gas in the electricity sector by 9 percent by 2030 compared to business as usual.
• Rapid technological advances and falling costs have made renewables highly competitive. Between 2009 and 2013, wind capacity increased by 75 percent and solar capacity by 473 percent, while the national average cost of wind power dropped by more than 60 percent since 2009.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2014). THE CARBON-CUTTING POWER OF RENEWABLE ENERGY. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/10/Strengthening-the-EPA-Clean-Power-Plan.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. THE CARBON-CUTTING POWER OF RENEWABLE ENERGY. 2014. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/10/Strengthening-the-EPA-Clean-Power-Plan.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=THE CARBON-CUTTING POWER OF RENEWABLE ENERGY |date=October 2014 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/10/Strengthening-the-EPA-Clean-Power-Plan.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2014carboncutting, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{THE CARBON-CUTTING POWER OF RENEWABLE ENERGY}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2014}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2014/10/Strengthening-the-EPA-Clean-Power-Plan.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }