**Status:**Published
**Citation:**Bistline, J; Blanford, G. 2020. “Value of Technology in the U.S. Electric Power Sector: Impacts of Full Portfolios and Technological Change on the Costs of Meeting Decarbonization Goals.” Energy Economics 86:104694.
Using the U.S. Regional Economy, Greenhouse Gas, and Energy (US-REGEN) model, this research examines impacts of technological availability and advanced generation options on electricity market outcomes like generation, costs, and emissions. Model results illustrate how full portfolios and advanced technologies lower costs of future emissions reductions in the power sector. For a 95% CO2 cap by 2050, incremental compliance costs are roughly twice as high with a “limited” portfolio (i.e., without new nuclear, carbon-capture-equipped units, or transmission) compared with a “full” portfolio. The economic and technical implications of limited portfolios depend on which technologies are removed and on the market and policy contexts (e.g., costs are higher with stringent targets, more extensive end-use electrification, and lower gas prices). The analysis also shows how lower temporal and spatial resolution long-term planning models likely understate the value of technology by omitting important economic and technical features of high variable renewable pathways.
Link to Journal article: Energy Economics.