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Title: Demand-side solutions in the US building sector could achieve deep emissions reductions and avoid over $100 billion in power sector costs

Abstract

Buildings are energy-intensive and a primary source of US end-use sector carbon emissions. Although building emissions today are 25% below their 2005 peak, far deeper reductions are needed to reach the US 2050 net-zero emissions goal. However, plausible decarbonization pathways that consider both buildings and their interactions with the power grid remain poorly understood. Here, we couple detailed modeling of building energy use and the grid to quantify building decarbonization potential and associated grid impacts. We find up to a 91% reduction in building CO2 emissions from 2005 levels by 2050 using a portfolio of building efficiency, demand flexibility, and electrification measures alongside rapid grid decarbonization. Building efficiency and flexibility could generate up to $107 billion in annual power system cost savings by 2050, offsetting over a third of the incremental cost of full grid decarbonization. Our results underscore multiple benefits of demand-side solutions for deep decarbonization of US buildings.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [1]
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. The Brattle Group, Boston, MA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Building Technologies Office
OSTI Identifier:
1996968
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
One Earth
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 6; Journal Issue: 8; Journal ID: ISSN 2590-3322
Publisher:
Cell Press
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY

Citation Formats

Langevin, Jared, Satre-Meloy, Aven, Satchwell, Andrew J., Hledik, Ryan, Olszewski, Julia, Peters, Kate, and Chandra-Putra, Handi. Demand-side solutions in the US building sector could achieve deep emissions reductions and avoid over $100 billion in power sector costs. United States: N. p., 2023. Web. doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2023.07.008.
Langevin, Jared, Satre-Meloy, Aven, Satchwell, Andrew J., Hledik, Ryan, Olszewski, Julia, Peters, Kate, & Chandra-Putra, Handi. Demand-side solutions in the US building sector could achieve deep emissions reductions and avoid over $100 billion in power sector costs. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2023.07.008
Langevin, Jared, Satre-Meloy, Aven, Satchwell, Andrew J., Hledik, Ryan, Olszewski, Julia, Peters, Kate, and Chandra-Putra, Handi. Fri . "Demand-side solutions in the US building sector could achieve deep emissions reductions and avoid over $100 billion in power sector costs". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2023.07.008. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1996968.
@article{osti_1996968,
title = {Demand-side solutions in the US building sector could achieve deep emissions reductions and avoid over $100 billion in power sector costs},
author = {Langevin, Jared and Satre-Meloy, Aven and Satchwell, Andrew J. and Hledik, Ryan and Olszewski, Julia and Peters, Kate and Chandra-Putra, Handi},
abstractNote = {Buildings are energy-intensive and a primary source of US end-use sector carbon emissions. Although building emissions today are 25% below their 2005 peak, far deeper reductions are needed to reach the US 2050 net-zero emissions goal. However, plausible decarbonization pathways that consider both buildings and their interactions with the power grid remain poorly understood. Here, we couple detailed modeling of building energy use and the grid to quantify building decarbonization potential and associated grid impacts. We find up to a 91% reduction in building CO2 emissions from 2005 levels by 2050 using a portfolio of building efficiency, demand flexibility, and electrification measures alongside rapid grid decarbonization. Building efficiency and flexibility could generate up to $107 billion in annual power system cost savings by 2050, offsetting over a third of the incremental cost of full grid decarbonization. Our results underscore multiple benefits of demand-side solutions for deep decarbonization of US buildings.},
doi = {10.1016/j.oneear.2023.07.008},
journal = {One Earth},
number = 8,
volume = 6,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Aug 18 00:00:00 EDT 2023},
month = {Fri Aug 18 00:00:00 EDT 2023}
}

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