The Us has committed to reducing its CO2 emissions as part o

The Us has committed to reducing its CO_2 emissions as part of the Paris Agreement developed at the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) in December 2015. the Us agreed to decrease its emissions 26-28% below its 2005 levels by 2025. This translates to a decrease of approximately 2.5% per year over a 10 year period. Start by assuming that the decreases will all come from the electricity sector. Current CO_2 emissions are 2,000 Million Metric Tons (MMT). Your task is to reduce emissions by 50 MMT (2.5%). Total electricity generation is around 4,000 billion kWh. 1 MMT of CO_2 is approximately 1 billion kWh, A single nuclear power plant generates around 10 billion kWh per year while a wind turbine generates 0.25 billion kWh. How many nuclear power plants or wind turbines would need to be installed every year? what are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach? How else might the US meet its targets besides building new electrical capacity?

Solution

US need to reduce 50 MMT of CO2 per year.

1 MMT = 1 billion kwh

50 MMT = 50 billion kwh

1 nuclear power plant = 10 billion kwh

5 nuclear plant = 50 billion kwh = 50 MMT CO2

1 wind trubine = 0.25 billion kwh

200 wind turbine = 50 billion kwh =50 MMT CO2

So, US need to install 5 nuclear plants or 200 wind turbine every year.