The Electric Ceiling: Limits and Costs of Full Electrification Article Swipe
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· 2022
· Open Access
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· DOI: https://doi.org/10.24149/wp2220
· OA: W4307021229
Electrification is a centerpiece of global decarbonization efforts.Yet there are reasons to be skeptical of the inevitability, or at least the optimal pace, of the transition.We discuss several under-appreciated costs of full, or even deep, electrification.Consumer preferences can operate in favor of and in opposition to electrification goals; and electrification is likely to encounter physical and economic obstacles when it reaches some as-yet-unknown level.While we readily acknowledge the external benefits of decarbonization, we also explore several under-appreciated external costs.The credibility and eventual success of decarbonization efforts is enhanced by foreseeing and ideally avoiding predictable but non-obvious costs of promising abatement pathways.Thus, even with all of its promise, the degree of electrification may ultimately reach a limit.
