The environmental and public health benefits of achieving high penetrations of solar energy in the United States

Wiser, Ryan; Millstein, Dev; Mai, Trieu; Macknick, Jordan; Carpenter, Alberta; Cohen, Stuart; Cole, Wesley; Frew, Bethany; Heath, Garvin

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2016.07.068

The environmental and public health benefits of achieving high penetrations of solar energy in the United States

Journal Article · Fri Jul 22 04:00:00 EDT 2016 · Energy (Oxford)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2016.07.068· OSTI ID:1459375

Wiser, Ryan ^[1]; Millstein, Dev ^[1]; Mai, Trieu ^[2]; Macknick, Jordan ^[2]; Carpenter, Alberta ^[2]; Cohen, Stuart ^[2]; Cole, Wesley ^[2]; Frew, Bethany ^[2]; Heath, Garvin ^[2]

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Here, we estimate the environmental and public health benefits that may be realized if solar energy cost reductions continue until solar power is competitive across the U.S. without subsidies. Specifically, we model, from 2015 to 2050, solar power–induced reductions to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air pollutant emissions, and water usage. To find the incremental benefits of new solar deployment, we compare the difference between two scenarios, one where solar costs have fallen such that solar supplies 14% of the nation's electricity by 2030 and 27% by 2050, and a baseline scenario in which no solar is added after 2014. We monetize benefits, where credible methods exist to do so. We find that under these scenarios, solar power reduces GHG and air pollutants by ~10%, from 2015 to 2050, providing a discounted present value of 56–789 billion USD (central value of ~250 billion USD, equivalent to ~2 ¢/kWh-solar) in climate benefits and 77–298 billion USD (central value of 167 billion USD, or ~1.4 ¢/kWh-solar) in air quality and public health benefits. The ranges reflect uncertainty within the literature about the marginal impact of emissions of GHG and air pollutants. Solar power is also found to reduce water withdrawals and consumption by 4% and 9%, respectively, including in many drought-prone states.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1459375

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1339519
OSTI ID: 1359063
OSTI ID: 22640920

Journal Information:: Energy (Oxford), Journal Name: Energy (Oxford) Journal Issue: C Vol. 113; ISSN 0360-5442

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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