Reforming the permitting process will expedite the connection of renewable power sources to the electric grid, Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteer Perry Lindstrom writes in a guest column.
Opinion: Permitting reform can help advance clean energy goals dailypress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailypress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions declined by 11% in 2020
4/12/2021
2) emissions decreased by 11% in the United States in 2020 primarily because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions. U.S. energy-related CO
2 emissions fell in every end-use sector for the first time since 2012.
Within the U.S. power sector, emissions from coal declined the most, at 19%. Natural gas-related CO
2 rose by 3%. In 2020, as fossil fuel generation declined, generation from renewables continued to grow. Generation from wind and solar together increased by 17% in 2020. This shift in the United States toward renewable generation sources helped to lower the carbon emissions per unit of electricity generated, also known as carbon intensity. In our end-use sector CO
In the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA)
Annual Energy Outlook 2021 (AEO2021), EIA projects that U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will decline for most years through the mid-2030s but then begin to rise slightly from the mid-2030s through 2050. In the AEO2021 Reference case, EIA projects that, by 2050, U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions will be 5% higher than 2020 levels.
EIA projects that decreases in CO2 emissions through the mid-2030s will largely be a result of changes in the carbon intensity (carbon dioxide per British thermal unit) of the fuel mix, especially in the electric power sector. EIA projects the mix of fuels used to generate electricity to continue to transition from relatively carbon-intensive coal to less carbon-intensive sources, such as natural gas, and carbon-free renewable energy.