A new study published The peer-reviewed journal Cell Reports Sustainability, which focuses on the air quality and climate benefits of wind and solar energy, shows that U.S. wind and solar energy generation will provide $249 billion in health benefits between 2019 and 2022. in the field of climate and air quality.
While previous studies have shown that wind and solar power generation provide significant health and climate benefits, this research provides an important update: it takes into account recent changes in the electricity system (including the continued growth of wind and solar energy that supplies more than 30% of the total generation). in some regions) it includes recent updates of research on health and climate impacts, provides new quantitative analysis of uncertainty, and uses an approach that allows annual updates and replication in new regions.
The study evaluates the benefits of wind and solar energy in reducing sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The study estimates the dollar value of emissions reductions and the number of premature deaths avoided.
Key findings:
- We estimate that wind and solar energy generation will deliver a total climate and health benefit of 14.3¢/kWh-wind and 10.0¢/kWh-solar in 2022 (or in per MWh units: $143/MWh-wind and $100/MWh-solar).
- Considering only the health benefits for domestic air quality, the benefits were 3.6¢/kWh wind ($36/MWh wind) and 1.7¢/kWh solar ($17/MWh solar), with the remainder climate benefits are.
- By 2022, wind and solar energy generation will have contributed to reducing sufficient SO2 and noX emissions to prevent 1,200 to 1,600 premature deaths in the United States (reflecting an uncertainty range from the 5th to 95th percentile).
- The total climate and health benefits from wind and solar energy between 2019 and 2022 added up to $249 billion.
Figure 1: Graphical summary of the report.
Wind and solar energy provide air quality and climate benefits by reducing the need to generate electricity with fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal. The study uses a statistical model to determine the reduction in natural gas and coal production that occurred as a result of wind and solar power generation. The emission characteristics of these generators were used to determine the likely amount of avoided emissions. A series of air quality models were then used to estimate the dollar value of the domestic public health benefits of the avoided SO2 and noX emissions and an estimate of the social cost of carbon (the global cost of carbon dioxide emissions) was used to determine the dollar value of climate benefits.
The study developed regional estimates of benefits and shows how differences in the location of wind and solar power plants lead to differences in benefits. Some of these differences can be seen in the figure below, with wind deriving most of its value from the central US, the Midwest and Texas, versus solar, which was more concentrated in the western regions of the US and Texas. Both technologies reduce emissions from both natural gas and coal-fired power plants, but the benefits of wind power outweigh the benefits of solar power toward emissions reductions from coal-fired power plants.
News report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
