50-State Renewable Energy Plan Unveiled

Stanford University scientist Prof. Mark Jacobson, who developed a 50-state roadmap to transform the United States from fossil fuel dependence to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, unveiled the plan at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Chicago.

“Drastic problems require drastic and immediate solutions,” said Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering. “Our new roadmap is designed to provide each state a first step toward a renewable future.”

[Click here to use the interactive roadmap and see what the future energy plan mix for each state.] 

Negative fossil fuel impacts on climate and human health drove the plan

The motivation for the 50-state plan, he said, is to address negative impacts on climate and human health from widespread use of coal, oil and natural gas, according to Mark Shwartz, who published the story about the plan.

Shwartz writes about energy research for the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford University.

The plan completion has arrived as 10 states or cities have banned fracking. Friday, Los Angeles became the 10th to ban the fossil fuel extraction method, a business that has boomed and caused booms across the nation with related earthquakes.

Replacing fossil fuels with clean technologies would significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions contributing to global warming and spare lives of an estimated 59,000 Americans who die from exposure to air pollution annually, he said.

Jacobson and his colleagues have developed detailed proposals for converting energy infrastructures of New York, California and Washington states to 100 percent wind, water and solar power by 2050.

The new plan includes an online interactive map tailored to maximize the renewable resource potential of each of the 50 states. Hovering a cursor over California, for example, reveals that the state can meet virtually all its power demands (transportation, electricity, heating, etc.) in 2050 by switching to a clean technology portfolio that’s 55 percent solar, 35 percent wind (on- and offshore), 5 percent geothermal and 4 percent hydroelectric.

Nuclear power, ethanol and other biofuels are not included in the proposed energy mix for any states.

“The new map provides all of the basic information, such as how many wind turbines and solar panels would be needed to power each state, how much land area would be required, what would be the cost and cost savings, how many jobs would be created, and how much pollution-related mortality and global-warming emissions would be avoided,” Jacobson said.

The 50-state plan is posted on the website of The Solutions Project, a nonprofit outreach effort led by Jacobson, actor Mark Ruffalo (co-star of The Avengers), film director Josh Fox and others to raise public awareness about switching to clean energy produced by wind, water and sunlight. To publicize the plan, Ruffalo joined Solutions Project member Leilani Münter, a professional racecar driver, at a Feb. 15 Daytona National Speedway racing event that Munter participated in.

“Global warming, air pollution and energy insecurity are three of the most significant problems facing the world today,” said Jacobson, a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Precourt Institute for Energy.

“Unfortunately, scientific results are often glossed over. The Solutions Project was born with the vision of combining science with business, policy and public outreach through social media and cultural leaders – often artists and entertainers who can get the information out – to study and simultaneously address these global challenges.”

Source: Global Resistance