Diversity is the Key to Efficient, Affordable Energy

The reaction to this week’s joint announcement by the U.S. and China on plans to drastically cut emissions has been mixed. According to the fact sheet released by the White House, under the agreement the U.S. agrees to cut net greenhouse gas emissions to 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. President Xi Jinping of China announced his intention to halt the increase in China's CO2 emissions by 2030, with an attempt to peak earlier, and to increase the non-fossil fuel share of China's energy usage to around 20 percent by 2030. 

One major step for the U.S. is the EPA’s recently released Clean Power Plan, with the goal of reducing power sector emissions for existing power plants to 30% below 2005 levels by 2030.  However, critics of the proposal have already voiced numerous concerns about the legality and feasibility of the plan, as well as concerns about the plan's impact on the reliability of the power grid. Reliability will be a key issue since the plan intends to dramatically decrease the share of coal fired generation relative to the nationwide electric power generation mix in favor of renewables. 

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