Support for innovation in cleaner electric power technologies, including carbon capture and storage, nuclear, and renewable energy generation, should be ramped up in the United States at the national and state levels, a report Thursday by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine says. “Some of these technologies have seen recent cost and price declines and are cost-competitive in certain locations. But significantly greater market penetration of these technologies will be required to help address the worst impacts of climate change, as well as harms to human health such as asthma and premature death caused by pollution,” the report says.
The report identifies a number of actions that can be taken at the national or state levels to boost clean energy innovation. Placing a price on carbon, for example, would force electricity producers to take into account the “hidden costs” of fossil fuel use, such as harm to the environment and human health, the report says.
The report also suggests increasing energy efficiency. “[The agency] recommends that DOE, on an ongoing basis, set new standards for home appliances and commercial equipment at the maximum levels that are technologically feasible and economically justified,” a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine release says.