THE CONVERSATION
Jun 25, 2021
Carbon emissions from the electric power sector in 2020 was 52% lower than expected
With a growing supply of renewable energy, the United States is shifting to a carbon-free power system. So far, 17 states, including Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico have adopted executive orders to reach 100% clean electricity by 2050. And 46 U.S. utility companies have pledged to eliminate carbon.
According to the Annual Energy Outlook published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in 2005, annual carbon dioxide emissions from the electric power sector were projected to increase from 2,400 million metric tons to 3,000 million metric tons from 2005 to 2020. However, carbon emissions from the electric power sector in 2020 were 1,450 million metric tons, 52% lower than expected. According to this article, “the U.S. electricity sector has managed to march halfway to zero in just 15 years”. This is because wind and solar power performed better than expected, and because of the shale gas revolution. Energy efficiency has also improved in the United States as a result of policy and technological improvements.
However, there is no guarantee that it will be easy to reach zero-emission. Wind, solar and battery technologies will be central to decarbonization, so those technologies need to maintain stability. In addition, further research is needed on the development of technology to solve the weather dependence of renewable energy. We must not be relieved that we have reached the halfway. We need to advance several technologies to reach zero-emission.
Accordingly, we at Enposs, created FORCE to contribute to decarbonization. As mentioned earlier, improving energy efficiency is an important point in decarbonization. FORCE increases the conductivity and increases energy efficiency, so it can be applied to reduce carbon emission in all places where electricity is used.
In addition, even when zero-emission is reached, FORCE enables efficient use of electricity produced by renewable energy, thereby continuously reducing cost. How about accelerating decarbonization with FORCE?