$4.5-Trillion: The Price Tag of a Fossil Fuel-Free U.S.

Decarbonizing the U.S. grid and replacing fossil fuels with renewables could cost US$4.5 trillion in investments over the next 10 to 20 years, Wood Mackenzie analysts have calculated.

Such a move away from fossil fuels would require the installation of 1,600 GW of new solar and wind capacity, the research firm said.  This compares with a total capacity of 1,060 GW across the United States, of which 130 GW renewable capacity.

Yet a lot more generation capacity is not all, either.  A lot of utility-scale storage installations would also be necessary to make the power produced by solar and wind farms reliable enough to replace fossil fuels in the long run.  More precisely, Wood Mac’s analysts have calculated the storage capacity needed at 900 GW.

This sort of change has no precedent, the research firm said, and would necessitate a complete overhaul of the power generation industry.

Read more at $4.5-Trillion:  The Price Tag of a Fossil Fuel-Free U.S.