Abstract
Wind and solar generation reduce electric sector pollutant emissions and associated climate-related damages and air quality-related health damages. Here, we assess these emission reductions, focusing on carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx), and incorporate recent estimates of global warming costs and pollution health costs to estimate the dollar value of the associated climate and air quality benefits. From 2019 through 2022, wind and solar generation in the United States provided $249 billion of climate and air quality benefits based on central estimates. In 2022, the normalized benefits were $143/MWh and $100/MWh for wind and solar, respectively, or $36/MWh and $17/MWh when only including air quality benefits. Combined, wind and solar generation led to 1,200 to 1,600 fewer premature mortalities in 2022 (based on a 5th–95th percentile range). Our approach is based on simple, publicly available data, and it includes a sophisticated treatment of uncertainty.