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> Through the 20th century, the US doubled its electricity production ~every 20 years. The US has done that using fossil fuels though. > What makes you say do
by armada651 5y ago
> Through the 20th century, the US doubled its electricity production ~every 20 years.
The US has done that using fossil fuels though.
> What makes you say doubling its electricity production is impossible over the next ~20?
Whether the US can do the same thing with net zero emissions is the big question.
- vkou 5y ago> The US has done that using fossil fuels though. In that time period, non-hydro renewables were an order of magnitude more expensive than fossil fuels. They aren't anymore. > Whether the US can do the same thing with net zero emissions is the big question. Actually, even if it does so by building new coal plants, it would be done with net-negative emissions, because utility energy generation is more carbon-efficient than a tiny ICE burning gasoline (Which also requires a mountain of energy, and, uh, doing other ethically questionable things[0], to extract and refine.) The problem to solve is not that of energy generation. We know how to build power plants. We haven't built as many in recent years, because electricity demand has temporarily peaked. The problem to solve is figuring out the politics of getting electric vehicle infrastructure rolled out across the country[1]. Because it concerns land use, there's a lot of stakeholders that need to be on board for this. Fortunately, there are market pressures (people buying EVs, demand for charging infrastructure) that are pushing on this. [0] Prior to the fracking boom, your taxes paid for imperial adventures in the Middle East, the primary purpose of which was oil security. [1] Actually, I think the problem to solve is getting people out of cars and into scooters, mopeds, bicycles, buses, and trains, but that's neither here nor there.