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These Are the Critical Issues to Track with the New “Tech-Neutral” Clean Electricity Tax Credits

Union of Concerned Scientists

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) included a major—forthcoming—refresh for one of the biggest policy drivers of the nation’s clean energy transition to date: tax credits subsidizing the deployment of clean electricity resources. What’s “clean,” and how is it measured?

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Ask a Scientist: Two Dozen States Can Meet 100 Percent of Electricity Demand with Renewables by 2035

Union of Concerned Scientists

Nearly all of the alliance members have a renewable electricity standard (RES), which requires utilities in their jurisdiction to increase their use of renewable energy to a particular percentage by a specific year. We found that states have technically feasible and highly beneficial ways to achieve 100-percent renewable energy.

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Newsom Can Continue His Climate Leadership by Signing These Three Bills 

Union of Concerned Scientists

They demand electricity to charge while climate-fueled disasters are jeopardizing energy reliability. Use batteries for more than just driving What if EVs weren’t just a clean transportation solution, but a clean energy solution too?

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Ask a Scientist: Gas Plants Disproportionately Harm Marginalized Communities

Union of Concerned Scientists

Gas, which now generates 40 percent of US electricity, is considered by some to be critical to maintain grid reliability. For example, Dominion Energy, an electric and gas utility in Virginia, is planning to build a mammoth 1,000-megawatt gas plant in an area with a high percentage of residents who are people of color and low-income.

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Ask a Scientist: The US Has to Do More to Meet Its Carbon Emissions Reduction Goals

Union of Concerned Scientists

The legislation committed nearly $400 billion to support, among other things, wind and solar power, battery storage, electric vehicles, and other clean energy technologies that will make a significant dent in US heat-trapping emissions. How is that going to happen? Their report, however, comes with a warning.

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We Need an Agreement to Phase out Fossil Fuels at COP28

Union of Concerned Scientists

Beyond the climate harms of fossil fuels, they also impose a terrible toll on human health, as numerous recent studies show—including the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change , a BMJ study on global deaths from air pollution caused by fossil fuels, and a study on US deaths attributable to coal-fired electricity generation.

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Gas Plants Have a Real Climate Problem. So Do Some Proposed Approaches for Addressing It. 

Union of Concerned Scientists

The fuel, commonly known as natural gas, now powers the biggest portion of US electricity generation—more than 40 percent. It has also grown to be the largest source of carbon pollution from the US power sector, even as zero-carbon renewable energy has been growing by leaps and bounds. of that fuel.