Demand-side energy efficiency plays a major role in holding down growth in electricity demand
When designing the Clean Power Plan, the Environmental Protection Agency provided states with generation fuel and technology options to meet their emissions targets, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Given the options available to states, EIA has produced several scenarios as part of an Issues in Focus analysis in the Annual Energy Outlook 2016 (AEO2016).
Differences in emissions target types, emissions trading markets, and policy timelines have implications for electric capacity and generation in the US.
The CPP scenarios tend to result in more electricity generation from renewables—especially solar and wind—and (in most cases) natural gas over the next 25 years compared with projections without the CPP.
In all cases, coal generation declines, and generation from other fuels such as nuclear or hydroelectricity are relatively unchanged.
Power-sector carbon dioxide emissions are lower and retail electricity prices are higher compared with a case without the CPP.
Although demand-side energy efficiency plays a major role in holding down growth in electricity demand in all AEO2016 cases, incremental efficiency plays a relatively minor role in CPP compliance in all cases.
Incremental efficiency reduces 2030 electricity demand by about 67 billion kilowatthours (kWh) to 76 billion kWh, or about 1.5 per cent to 1.7 per cent of total electricity demand, compared with a scenario without the Clean Power Plan.
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