Low Carbon Electricity.pdf

A study calculates the cost-optimized configuration of variable electrical power generators using weather data with high spatial and temporal resolution over the contiguous US. The results show that carbon dioxide emissions from the US electricity sector can be reduced by up to 80% relative to 1990 levels without an increase in the levelized cost of electricity. This reduction is possible with current technologies and without electrical storage. The study uses a National Electricity with Weather System (NEWS) model, which co-optimizes dispatch, transmission, and capacity expansion, allowing cost savings from geographic diversity, load smoothing, transmission expansion, reserve pooling, and decreased energy density requirements. The model integrates complex weather data over continental-scale geography and handles the salient features of an electrical power system. The study finds that wind and solar power can increase their share of electricity production as the system grows to encompass large-scale weather patterns, and that a national system enabled by high-voltage direct-current transmission can reduce carbon emissions by moving away from a regionally divided electricity sector.

Key findings:
- Up to 80% reduction in CO2 emissions from the US electricity sector
- No increase in the levelized cost of electricity
- Current technologies can achieve this reduction without electrical storage
- NEWS model co-optimizes dispatch, transmission, and capacity expansion
- Wind and solar power increase their share of electricity production as the system grows
- High-voltage direct-current transmission enables a national system to reduce carbon emissions.