Solar power could deliver USD 400 billion in
environmental and public health benefits throughout the United States
by 2050, according to a study from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
“We find that an U.S. electric system in
which solar plays a major role – supplying 14% of demand in 2030, and
27% in 2050 – would result in enduring environmental and health
benefits,” said Ryan Wiser of Berkeley Lab’s Energy Technologies Area.
“Moreover, we find that the existing fleet of solar
plants is already offering a down-payment towards those benefits, and
that there are sizable regional differences in the benefits.”
The total monetary value of the greenhouse-gas and
air pollution benefits of the high-penetration solar scenario exceeds
USD 400 billion in present-value terms under central assumptions.
Focusing on the existing end-of-2014 fleet of solar
power projects, recent annual benefits equal more than USD 1.5 billion
under central assumptions.
Benefits of the Existing Fleet of Solar Projects
The study finds that the 20 gigawatts (GW) of solar
installed as of the end of 2014 is already lowering annual greenhouse
gases (GHGs) by 17 million metric tons, worth about USD 700 million per
year if valued with a central estimate of the “social cost of carbon” –
the Obama Administration’s estimate of the long-term damage done by one
ton of carbon emissions. Over half of these benefits come from emissions
reductions in California.
Benefits from a high-penetration solar energy future
Looking further ahead, with solar growing to 14% of
demand by 2030 and 27% by 2050, the study finds GHG reductions of 13% in
2030 and 18% in 2050, compared to a scenario of no new solar.
These emission reductions are worth about USD
259 billion in reduced global climate damages based on central
estimates, or 2.2 cents per kWh of solar.
source:http://www.solarserver.com
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