This submit is a part of an ongoing “What Is” collection from Power Innovation that solutions a few of as we speak’s most urgent local weather coverage questions. The primary on this collection answered the query–What’s Web-Zero?, and the second answered the query What’s The Inflation Discount Act?.
What’s Clear Power?
Preventing local weather change is the problem of our time—chopping emissions on the velocity and scale science deems crucial will decide the way forward for almost all dwelling issues on the planet for generations. It’s an overarching drawback that impacts each nook of our society and economic system, and it requires.
Nonetheless, as sophisticated as the issue appears, the answer to cleansing up local weather air pollution is easy: Use clear vitality to make electrical energy and use that clear electrical energy to energy gear like autos, factories, and home equipment that at the moment burn fossil fuels.
However what counts as clear vitality?
The reply to that query varies relying on who’s responding, muddying the panorama, diverting sources from one of the best options, and costing valuable time within the effort to chop local weather air pollution. However the backside line is obvious – vitality isn’t clear if it generates greenhouse gasoline emissions or air air pollution.
To set the file straight, right here’s a information that walks by means of the clearly clear vitality applied sciences and people requiring extra nuance.
The plain candidates: Renewable vitality
Renewables—wind, photo voltaic, geothermal, and hydropower—are universally acknowledged as clear vitality. To generate electrical energy, they harness pure processes like wind, the solar’s rays, the earth’s warmth, and the movement of water. And since they don’t burn any feedstock like coal or pure gasoline, they emit no air or local weather air pollution, qualifying them as clear vitality. These sources at the moment generate about 20 p.c of U.S. electrical energy.
Renewables are a bedrock local weather resolution, they’re the most affordable type of energy as we speak and can preserve getting cheaper over time, and we all know tips on how to reliably handle an electrical grid with a excessive share of renewable vitality.
Clear however not pollution-free: Nuclear energy
Nuclear energy at the moment provides 20 p.c of the USA’s electrical energy, making it certainly one of our largest sources of energy free from local weather air pollution. Nuclear crops can present around-the-clock zero-carbon energy, which means they’re an necessary a part of a clear grid. Whereas setting up new nuclear crops is a well timed and costly course of, sustaining the working nuclear fleet is vital to assembly local weather objectives, as a result of in the event that they aren’t on-line, fossil gasoline energy may fill that required era capability.
We contemplate nuclear energy to be “clear” on the idea that it doesn’t emit air pollution, though it should be acknowledged nuclear crops do create nuclear waste, which has sophisticated storage necessities and may be hazardous. The shortage of greenhouse gasoline emissions is the important thing distinction on this evaluation.
Hydrogen: It’s sophisticated
Hydrogen has lengthy been mentioned as a possible local weather resolution, and it has sure use instances the place it will likely be wanted to offer vitality free from local weather air pollution in a manner electrified processes can’t like metal manufacturing, aviation, and long-haul maritime transport.
Rating hydrogen’s decarbonization prospects by end-use sector from glorious to horrible.
Nonetheless, though burning hydrogen solely emits water vapor, it’s sophisticated from a local weather perspective. Hydrogen by itself scarcely exists in nature—typically it should be separated from different molecules utilizing energy-intensive gear known as electrolyzers. If electrolyzers are powered by fossil fuels, the hydrogen they produce isn’t thought-about clear, since air pollution happens through the creation of that hydrogen, even when it solely water vapor is emitted when the hydrogen itself is subsequently burned.
To be thought-about clear, hydrogen should be produced by electrolyzers powered by one other clear vitality supply, ideally wind or photo voltaic. That is known as inexperienced hydrogen.
Carbon seize and storage (CCS): Theoretically clear, absent in the true world
CCS entails burning fossil fuels at a facility like a coal energy plant or metal mill, after which sequestering the ensuing local weather air pollution in an underground geologic formation or substance like limestone. Whereas theoretically potential, this course of shouldn’t be and has not been used anyplace on the earth at scale. Failures and price overruns have plagued CCS demonstration initiatives. And whereas CCS captures carbon dioxide, it doesn’t seize conventional air air pollution like soot, NOx, or Sox, all of which harms human well being.
Pure gasoline: A bridge to nowhere
Many trade teams have labored for years to model pure gasoline as clear with the narrative of gasoline as a “bridge gasoline” to a clear vitality future typically pushed by fossil gasoline curiosity teams. However that is resoundingly false. Though pure gasoline emits half the carbon dioxide of coal, it nonetheless generates substantial quantities of local weather air pollution when burned.
And pure gasoline wells, pipelines, and home equipment typically leak methane, a way more potent greenhouse gasoline when it comes to trapping warmth within the ambiance than carbon dioxide and is accountable for an estimated 20-30 p.c of worldwide warming for the reason that Industrial Revolution.
There isn’t any credible state of affairs during which pure gasoline may be thought-about clear from a local weather perspective.
How coverage can convey extra clear vitality on-line, sooner
Due to clear vitality’s superior economics, state and federal coverage, and company local weather objectives, almost all new additions to the U.S. electrical grid at the moment are clear.
In 2024, 96 p.c of the brand new capability added within the U.S. will encompass wind, photo voltaic, storage, and nuclear, all free from local weather air pollution. Whereas it is a hopeful improvement, we’re nonetheless not including clear vitality quick sufficient.
Headwinds comparable to excessive rates of interest, native siting challenges, provide chain constraints, and lengthy wait instances to connect with the grid are among the many components including sand to the gears of the clear transition. Instituting good coverage might help ease the friction, together with:
- Enhancing regional and interregional transmission planning.
- Accelerating interconnection by decreasing the necessities on interconnection research to solely these crucial to attach the venture to the grid.
- Upgrading transmission strains utilizing reasonably priced expertise to get massive capability will increase briefly timelines.
- Implementing state and nationwide clear electrical energy requirements to mandate the transition to wash vitality.
- Enhancing regional sharing of electrical energy to enhance reliability and resiliency.
- And enabling demand-side options to satisfy peak hundreds shortly and affordably.
Clear vitality is foundational to the combat towards local weather change—different options like electrification of transportation, buildings, and trade will solely attain their fullest potential if clear vitality provides the electrical energy these applied sciences run on, moderately than coal and pure gasoline.
Due to this fact, it’s essential that policymakers, regulators, advocates, and companies perceive what vitality sources are really clear and that are imposters. In any other case, they threat providing incentives, investments, and help to the flawed applied sciences which may solely make our local weather progress worse.
