Transmission Planning for 100% Clean Electricity: Enabling Clean, Affordable, and Reliable Electricity

Numerous countries, states, utilities, cities, and corporations have adopted 100% clean electricity goals to slow climate change. Typical goals are to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035 and 100% clean energy by 2050 while maintaining an affordable, reliable energy system. This article explores the role of high-voltage transmission as an enabler for achieving 100% clean electricity and a largely decarbonized economy in an affordable, reliable fashion. It synthesizes the results from several recent studies on decarbonization pathways to examine implications for transmission expansion needs and approaches in the United States and Europe.