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Clean Technology Needs Major R&D Funding, Study Finds

Clean energy technology needs to advance by an order of magnitude for the United States to meet its so-called 25 x ‘25 goal of producing 25% of its electricity and motor vehicle fuel from renewable sources by 2025, according to a new report from the RAND Corporation released today.

The study gives a “snapshot” of the nation’s potential energy expenditures if a requirement was imposed that 25% of electricity and motor vehicle fuels used in the United States by 2025 would come from renewable resources. The study’s key findings include:

1. Renewable energy technology will have to improve at the very significant pace envisioned by some renewable energy supporters in order to enjoy low-cost impacts
   
2. Significant increases in the use of wind power are possible, but only with substantial technical advances to facilitate greater use of less-productive locations
   
3. More moderate renewable energy targets reduce expenditure impacts more than proportionately, though carbon dioxide reductions also are less significant
   
4. The federal government’s policy approach to pricing of renewable motor fuels will significantly affect fuel demand and society’s total energy expenditures
5. Biomass resources and wind power have the greatest potential to contribute toward reaching the 25 x ‘25 goal.

The study finds that meeting the 25 x ‘25 goals would be more challenging than reported in an earlier RAND report issued in 2006 claimed. The Energy Future Coalition, a nonprofit environmental organization, asked RAND to assess the economic and other impacts of meeting the 25 x ‘25 goal. The RAND study considered technological and economic factors that would affect the costs of renewable energy as well as non-renewable fossil fuels.

Currently, renewable energy provides 9.5% of total U.S. electricity supply, mostly hydroelectric power, and 1.6 percent of motor vehicle fuel. Wind power, solar power, hydropower, and the burning of agricultural waste are all examples of renewable energy sources that can be used to produce electricity. Biomass resources can also can be turned into ethanol or gasoline that can power motor vehicles. The study finds, however, that a large, inexpensive and easily converted biomass supply is essential if it is to be used as a renewable resource and still have a limited impact on consumers’ wallets. Developing such a supply would require harvesting energy crops at a scale that greatly exceeds current production.