In round #s: assuming electrification consistent w/net zero economy wide emissions by 2050, US needs ~5k-5.5k TWh of total electricity in 2035 (vs ~4k now). Need to ~double again by 2050 too! We have on order or 1.5k TWh from all clean sources today (about 1/2 nuclear & 1/2 RE).
So that says we need to more than triple all current carbon-free generation from now to 2035 to meet Biden goal. And we would need to build ~7 times current carbon-free generation cumulatively by 2050 to keep up with growing electric demand from EVs, heat pumps, electrolysis, etc
I'm a co-PI of @Princeton's Net Zero America study which is researching what it will take to get the US to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. We'll be sharing findings later this year on the scale and pace of this undertaking and the impacts on employment, pollution, etc.
Or to put it another way, since the existing carbon-free electricity we have now is about same as growth in electricity demand to 2035 as we electrify vehicles, etc. we need to build the equivalent (in round terms) of our entire US generation from NEW carbon-free sources by 2035!
Took us 150 years the last time around. Now we have 15. Game on! Rebuild better.
