1800 to 0: Pathways to a Zero-Carbon US Power Grid

A zero-carbon electricity sector is crucial to avoiding the worst consequences of climate change, and there remains substantial work to be done. Just building more renewable power generation capacity is not a viable strategy, as the seasonality and intermittency of such sources would harm overall grid reliability. I examine the storage, generation, and transmission technologies that will be necessary to scale the zero-carbon power grid while maintaining overall system reliability, along with the role for negative-carbon technologies. I also turn to published studies from academia and government to showcase how these technologies can work in tandem to enable overall decarbonization of the power sector. Finally, I examine various policies that can accelerate adoption of these technologies and drive decarbonization.