Travis Madsen
Policy Analyst
America can address our largest environmental challenges by shifting to 100 percent renewable energy. We Have the Power harnesses the evidence for why a transition to 100 percent renewable energy is both necessary and achievable and highlights the technologies and tools that can get us there.
Policy Analyst
Associate Director and Senior Policy Analyst, Frontier Group
Policy Analyst
Note: A more recent version of this report is available.
America can address our largest environmental challenges by shifting to 100 percent renewable energy. Renewable energy makes us safer and healthier, protecting our communities from global warming and from hazardous air pollution. Renewable energy reduces the need for dangerous and destructive practices like shipping explosive fuels through our cities, fracking for gas near our water supplies, or razing our mountains to dig up dirty coal. An economy powered by 100 percent renewable energy is within our reach. First, we can reduce the total amount of energy we use through improved efficiency, even as our economy continues to grow. Second, we can tap America’s virtually inexhaustible supplies of energy from the wind, the sun, the land and the oceans.
Our transition to a clean energy system has already begun. But, with the need to reduce the pollution that causes global warming growing more urgent every day, we need to step up the pace. To maximize the benefits of moving to 100 percent renewable energy, leaders at all levels must act to accelerate our progress. America’s energy policy should facilitate mass deployment of clean energy solutions, support research and development of new clean energy technologies, and keep much of our coal, oil and gas reserves in the ground.
A shift to 100 percent renewable energy can limit the impacts of global warming.
Renewable energy improves our health, increases our safety, and puts our economy on a sound foundation.
America has vast renewable energy resources – enough to meet our needs many times over.
Figure ES-1: Comparison of Renewable Energy Technical Potential and Current Consumption (Data: NREL)
Affordable 100 percent renewable energy is within our reach.
Table ES-1. High Renewable Energy Scenarios for United States
*High renewables case also included replacement of 83% of gas fuels with biomass and hydrogen and reduction in solid fossil fuels use.
Figure ES-2. Global Solar Photovoltaic Capacity (Green Line) versus Projections (data: Greenpeace)
Solar energy installations around the world have grown faster than even the most optimistic forecasts made by Greenpeace (SG, ER, Advanced ER), the solar energy industry (SG) and the International Energy Agency (IEA)
Emerging technologies and new trends are opening the door for an unprecedented transformation of our energy system to 100 percent clean, renewable power.
Figure ES-3. Recent Cost Declines in Clean Energy Technologies[ix]
Leaders at all levels of government should act to accelerate our transition to 100 percent renewable energy. Five key principles should guide America’s energy policy:
[1] International Energy Agency, Energy Technology Perspectives 2015: Mobilising Innovation to Accelerate Climate Action, 4 May 2015.
[ii] Alexander MacDonald et al., “Future Cost-Competitive Electricity Systems and Their Impact on U.S. CO2 Emissions,” Nature Climate Change, DOI: 10.1038/nclimate2921, 25 January 2016.
[iii] Mark Jacobson et al., “100% Clean and Renewable Wind, Water, and Sunlight (WWS) All-sector Energy Roadmaps for the 50 United States,” Energy & Environmental Science 2015 8:2093, DOI: 10.1039/C5EE01283J, 27 May 2015.
[iv] Sven Teske et al., Energy [R]evolution: A Sustainable World Energy Outlook 2015, Greenpeace International, Global Wind Energy Council, Solar PowerEurope, September 2015.
[v] James H. Williams et al., Energy and Environmental Economics, Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States, 16 November 2015.
[vi] Cory Budischak, “Cost-minimized Combinations of Wind Power, Solar Power and Electrochemical Storage, Powering the Grid up to 99.9% of the Time,” Journal of Power Sources, 225: 60-74, 1 March 2013.
[vii] M.M. Hand et al., National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Renewable Electricity Futures Study, December 2012.
[viii] WWF, The Energy Report – 100% Renewable Energy by 2050, 2011.
[ix] Lazard, Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Electricity Analysis – Version 8.0, September 2014; U.S. Department of Energy, Revolution…Now: The Future Arrives for Five Clean Energy Technologies – 2015 Update, November 2015.
Policy Analyst
Tony Dutzik is associate director and senior policy analyst with Frontier Group. His research and ideas on climate, energy and transportation policy have helped shape public policy debates across the U.S., and have earned coverage in media outlets from the New York Times to National Public Radio. A former journalist, Tony lives and works in Boston.
Policy Analyst