根据能源信息管理局的说法Annual Energy Outlook, released Jan. 29.

EIA预测可再生能源将占2050年电力的38％，高于今天的19％，而天然气将占电力的37％，而今天的电力为36％。核和煤炭将分别下降到12％和13％。EIA管理员琳达·卡普亚诺（Linda Capuano）也指出，2019年，美国成为了用原油出口，液化天然气和石油产品出口的能源净出口国，这一趋势将持续到2050年。

In the report, EIA says although the growth of renewables is currently driven by state and federal policies, such as tax credits, declining costs will continue to make renewables economically competitive even as those policies expire.

The largest source of renewable generation will come from solar energy, accounting for 46% of renewable power by 2050, compared with wind, which will provide 33% by that time.

After the release of the report at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., a panel of industry officials agreed with the assessment, noting that already it’s cheaper for utilities to retire older coal and natural gas plants and replace them with renewable energy. “It actually saves our customers money,” said Karen Hyde, vice president, chief risk officer and chief audit executive at Xcel Energy. Xcel has promised to reduce its carbon emissions 80% from 2005 levels by 2030. The technology already exists for that to occur, she said.

Southern Company has also committed to reducing its emissions levels 50% below 2007 levels by 2030. “It’s a path we can see straightforward through 2030,” said Charles Rossmann, economist at the Southern Company.

如何ever, both Hyde and Rossmann said reaching the utilities’ bigger targets of zero carbon emissions by 2050 is not so easy because the technology doesn’t currently exist to store and distribute so much renewable generation.

罗斯曼说，除其他外，还需要更大的电池。

这些尾端目标需要技术。海德说：“我一直都在考虑。”

Jason Grumet, president of the Bipartisan Policy Center, kicked off the discussion saying that energy and climate is one of the few issues that both Republicans and Democrats are working together on. “We’ve shifted from a pretty unproductive discussion over the existence of the problem, to what will become a very productive battle over the solutions.”