Update: “Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy” was an early effort to assess the feasibility of a renewable energy system. Costs of solar energy and energy storage were very high. The transition in that context would be very difficult. Since the book was completed in 2007, the picture has change dramatically. Utility-scale solar and wind are the lowest cost electricity sources. Battery costs have come down. Electric vehicles are displacing petroleum ones. As a result, Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free is technically and economically obsolete; it is still of some historical interest. For a more up-to-date analysis, based on hour-by-hour modeling that reflects the cost evolution, see Prosperous, Renewable Maryland (2016).”

The goal of the Carbon-Free Nuclear-Free project is to eliminate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels by promoting a zero-CO2 economy in the U.S., and to and to lay out a roadmap to achieve this as soon as is technically and economically practical, without resorting to nuclear power. It will take an integrated and comprehensive solution, as the issues of climate change, nuclear weapons proliferation, and security of oil supplies are intimately connected.

Inspired by the 2007 book Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy, state-efforts are currently leading the way. See below for additional reports, op-eds, testimony, and more resources related to Carbon-Free Nuclear-Free.

State-level Carbon-Free Nuclear-Free Reports

Technical Reports

  • The Trouble with STRIDE: Meeting climate goals and addressing natural gas system stranded costs: January, 2024

  • Report on water requirements for hydrogen production prepared for Just Solutions: November, 2023

  • Expert Panel views on Fukushima radioactive water dumping proposal: June, 2023

  • Questions for NuScale VOYGR Reactor Certification: When Will It Be Done? And then, Will It Be Safe?: May, 2023