Tackling Climate Challenges through R&D, Policy Making and Investments

Climate change is already affecting the world. We have to find ways to mitigate the climate change damage and adapt to the changing environment. Major sectors including electricity sector will have to undergo a radical transformation for the deep decarbonization necessary to avoid the worst effects of climate change. To help guide the consideration of the plethora of options for how to conduct this transformation, the Breakthrough Energy Grid Modeling team is working to develop, validate, and publish high-resolution models of the U.S. grid, capable of investigating a variety of future grid configurations. To demonstrate the utility of these models, we investigate how to meet the current 2030 clean electricity goals, as well as a more ambitious set of goals consistent with deep decarbonization. With electric grid as an enabler, transportation, building, manufacturing sectors will be integrated as one energy system. The modeling of these coupled sectors and the openness of these models are critical for decision makers in policy, industry, academia, and investment community. The modeling capabilities allow people to make better policies and investments to tackle climate challenges effectively. Breakthrough Energy is actively working with all stakeholders to solve these challenging problems.