Listed below are all documents and RMI.org site pages related to this topic.
10 Items
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-US_natural_gas_consumption
In
Reinventing Fire, natural gas consumption in 2050 is reduced by 36% relative to business-as-usual. This reduction is primarily enabled by improved efficiency in commercial and residential buildings and less reliance on natural gas in the electricity sector.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-2050_installed_capacity_by_case
The required generating capacity and its breakdown are very different in each of Rocky Mountain Institute’s four scenarios for the future U.S. electricity system (
detailed here).
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-technology_capital_cost_projections
In evaluating the future U.S. electricity system, Rocky Mountain Institute created capital cost projections for fossil and renewable generation technologies through 2050. Many newer technologies, such as concentrated solar power, solar photovoltaics, and battery storage, are projected to have rapidly declining capital costs in the next 40 years.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-Wind_and_solar_capital_cost_trends
Renewable energy technologies have historically had higher capital costs than fossil-fueled power plants, but these costs are falling rapidly.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-Strategies_reduce_cost_groundmounted_PV
The solar photovoltaics industry has seen remarkable cost reductions over the past 35 years. PV module prices have declined so much that today
non-module costs are the majority of total installed cost for utility-scale PV projects. These “balance of system” costs are primed for major reduction through smarter and smaller power electronics, streamlined installation technologies and processes, and project development approaches that leverage low-risk capital and better customer education.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-US_renewable_energy_potential
Considering budding technologies that could be commercially available in the future, the potential U.S. generation capacity from renewables is overwhelming. Wave and tidal generators, offshore deep-water wind farms, and enhanced geothermal power (which uses the Earth's heat but doesn’t require a natural steam source) are all in development and represent a huge potential energy resource.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-cost_savings_from_running_CHP
Buildings or industrial facilities that operate combined heat and power (CHP) generators purchase a fuel (typically natural gas) and use it to generate electricity onsite, capturing the waste heat for the facility’s heating demands. Whether or not the operator can generate electricity cheaper than they can buy it is dependent on the current costs of fuel and electricity as well as the efficiency of their unit, and is quantified by the spark spread.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-US_installed_wind_solar_power_capacities
Together, wind and solar will account for 71% of total U.S. installed capacity in 2050 in Rocky Mountain Institute’s Transform case, up from 4.4% in 2010. Along with hydro, geothermal, and biomass, renewables will meet more than 80% of 2050 U.S. electricity demand.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-variable_renewable_output
The dynamic nature of variable renewable resources presents challenges to conventional electricity system operations. Production from wind and solar resources, in particular, is both variable (fluctuating throughout the day according to availability of the “fuel”) and uncertain (weather forecasting is required and by definition is not always accurate).
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-frequency_duration_net_loads
Different renewable portfolio compositions place differing demands on the generation and storage resources of the grid. In hours when variable renewable supply is not enough to meet the full load, the remaining demand must be met with dispatchable generators. When variable renewable supply exceeds the full load, the excess renewable supply must be stored or curtailed. The frequency of over or under-supply is highly dependent on the amount and mix of variable renewables on a given system.