According to a new study, if the US replaced all fossil-fuel equipment (including power plants) with solar or wind, the results would be amazing:
- 100% clean energy within 15 years
- 25 million new jobs during the transition, with 5 million permanent jobs — well-paid jobs that cannot be outsourced!
- the average household would save ~$1,000/year on its energy bills
- global warming would held to <1.75°C
These results are very conservative, because the study assumes
- using existing technology (no new tech required)
- replacing equipment at the end of its normal life cycle — obviously this could be accelerated — prompt retirement & replacement of large emitters (such as FF power plants) could reduce this even below the 1.5° goal of the Paris agreement.
The study does not consider the immense carbon sequestration of replacing ‘conventional’, chemical-intensive agriculture with regenerative organic growing, which would make it relatively easy to limit the warming to 1°C!
The study was done for Rewiring America, a non-profit dedicated to converting the US economy to renewable energy. You can find the original 30-page white paper and an accompanying handbook on their site, [free PDF of book]
Source: ‘Clean Electricity Plan Would Free US Economy of Carbon Dependence in 15 Years‘ (Truthout, 20 September 2020)
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