Five different decarbonization pathways examined Grid may need to triple in size by midcentury The U.S. can completely decarbonize its economy by midcentury without spending significantly more on energy, according to a new report released Dec. 15 by a team of researchers at Princeton University. While the U.S. is projected to spend approximately $9.4 trillion on energy over the next decade, it could pursue any of five different decarbonization pathways each of which would only cost about 3%, or $300 billion, more than a business-as-usual approach, the report determined. Produced by the Princeton researchers in cooperation with external collaborators, the 346-page report is the first to quantify with such specificity the energy infrastructure needed in the coming years to avoid the worst effects of climate change, the school said in a Dec. 15 news release. The […]