In a “mid-case” scenario tied to existing policies, U.S. gas-fired capacity increases by 200 GW through 2050, National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers said in a report released Tuesday. And, even when cutting carbon emissions by 95%, gas-fired capacity would grow by 130 GW by mid-century, according to the modeling. “We will continue to use fossil fuels during times of critical demand to provide grid resilience and reliability,” NREL said.
The mid-case modeling shows U.S. solar capacity soaring to 1,090 GW and wind capacity jumping to 770 GW by 2050, or about tens times and five times more than existing capacity, respectively.
