Getting to 100% renewable energy in the US by 2050 is a goal that is gaining traction among the US public. Reports from many environmental organizations have been written on how to get to this target, including from Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Foundation. After last year’s COP21 conference, the momentum has gotten stronger in order to keep global temperature within the 1.5°C threshold to avoid dramatic climatic change on the Earth.

Now, another massive report suggests a framework on how the US can get to 100% renewable energy sources by 2050.

Nellis Solar Power Plant, photovoltaic power plant in Nevada by U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Nadine Y. Barclay via Wikicommons (Public Domain)

A paper titled 100% Clean and Renewable Wind, Water and Sunlight all-sector Roadmaps for the 50 United States suggests this is possible even within 35 years. This analysis shows that getting to 100% renewable energy within the US would consist of:

-30.9% onshore wind
-19.1% offshore wind
-30.7% utility-scale solar photovoltaics (PV)
-7.2% rooftop PV
-7.3% concentrated solar power (CSP) with storage
-1.25% geothermal
-0.37% tidal/wave
-3.01% hydroelectricity

Under a 100% renewable scenario based on these numbers, millions of jobs would be created. Consider that 3.9 million construction jobs and 2 million operational jobs at renewable energy plants would outpace 3.9 million jobs lost from the traditional energy sectors.

Read the rest at CleanTechnica.com