The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has just released a seminal study detailing the extent to which renewable energy supply can meet the electricity demands of the continental United States over the next several decades.

The Renewable Electricity Futures Study “explores the implications and challenges of very high renewable electricity generation levels” by 2050, focusing on 80 percent of all U.S. electricity generation from renewable technologies.

Among the key findings:

Renewable electricity generation from technologies that are commercially available today, in combination with a more flexible electric system, is more than adequate to supply 80% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2050 while meeting electricity demand on an hourly basis in every region of the country.

In other words, renewable energy is the key to a low-carbon future we can all live with.