Consumer Benefits of Clean Energy: Policy Brief

Clean energy offers many benefits to consumers, including reducing consumers’ electricity bills, lowering total electricity system costs, and providing health and resilience benefits. States can accelerate consumers' access to these benefits with policies that support energy efficiency, demand flexibility, renewable energy and storage. Berkeley Lab developed a series of briefs that explore the consumer benefits of clean energy, and identify actions states can take to promote them.

1. Contribute to a least-cost electricity system by using low-cost resources such as end-use efficiency, demand flexibility, behind-the-meter solar PV and storage, and utility-scale renewable energy.
2. Greenhouse gas emissions reductions and improved outdoor air quality from consumers shifting their home energy consumption from direct combustion of natural gas to efficient electric appliances, taking into account increased electricity generation due to demand growth.
3. Improved resilience of homes to grid outages due to installation of BTM solar PV coupled with storage

This brief provides an overview of the efficiency, renewable energy, health and resilience benefits and summarizes actions for states that want to take advantage of the consumer benefits of the clean energy transition.