Follow the Leader? Evaluating California as an electricity model for the future
Abstract
As the search for low carbon sources of electricity in the US continues it makes sense
to consider those systems which are already providing electricity without significant
CO2 emissions. In the US there are a few states with emissions which are significantly
lower than the national average, California is one such example and it has been pointed
to many times as a model for the rest of the country to follow. In determining whether
or not these types of changes would be possible at a national level, the differences
between the US and California must be understood as well as quantifying what the changes
might be. Major differences between the two include climate, generation mix and levels
of consumption among others. The changes necessary entail greatly reducing electricity
consumption and in addition generating much more electricity from natural gas and
renewable sources while almost totally phasing out coal.
While there would be significant reductions in CO2 emissions and other gases associated
with coal combustion by transforming the US electricity system to one like California’s,
the costs and impacts of such changes make the transition unlikely. Greatly increased
dependence on natural gas would lead to higher prices and the use of coal would need
to be tightly controlled. On the bright side, the disparity in price between the US
and California indicates that as prices rise in the rest of the country, there may
be a substantial demand response. In addition there is potential for further demand
reductions by implementing the most effective efficiency programs such as decoupling
and the re-investment of utility profits. There are many important lessons that can
be learned from the experience in California but the path that the US takes to lower
CO2 emissions will likely be implemented differently than how it was in California.
Type
Master's projectPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/966Citation
Shaw, John (2009). Follow the Leader? Evaluating California as an electricity model for the future. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/966.Collections
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