A high-resolution
map based on NOAA weather data showing wind energy potential
across the United
States in 2012. Image by Chris
Clack/CIRES
(January 25, 2016) The
United States could slash greenhouse gas emissions from power production by up
to 78 percent below 1990 levels within 15 years while meeting increased demand,
according to a new study by NOAA and University of Colorado Boulder
researchers.
The study used a sophisticated mathematical model to
evaluate future cost, demand, generation and transmission scenarios. It found
that with improvements in transmission infrastructure, weather-driven renewable
resources could supply most of the nation’s electricity at costs similar to
today’s.
“Our research shows a transition to a reliable, low-carbon,
electrical generation and transmission system can be accomplished with
commercially available technology and within 15 years,” said Alexander
MacDonald, co-lead author and recently retired director of NOAA’s Earth System
Research Laboratory (ESRL) in Boulder.
The paper is published online today in the journal Nature
Climate Change.
Although improvements in wind and solar generation have
continued to ratchet down the cost of producing renewable energy, these energy
resources are inherently intermittent. As a result, utilities have invested in
surplus generation capacity to back up renewable energy generation with natural
gas-fired generators and other reserves.