In October and November, I wrote about carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels used to generate electricity; how CO2 can influence climate change; legislation and regulation to reduce CO2 emissions; and how the transition from coal to wind and solar generation is undermining electric grid reliability. Whenever someone brings a problem to me, after listening, my response is often, “What solution do you propose?”

Over the past two decades, the United States has focused on wind and solar power as the solution to reduce CO2 emissions.

But because wind and solar power are low power-density sources of electricity, they take up vast tracts of land. For example, Robert Bryce in his book “A Question of Power” says wind energy requires a footprint more than 1,300 times that of conventional power plants. Because they are variable resources—generating power only when the wind blows or sun shines—they threaten the stability and reliability of our critical electric energy supply.

So, what is the solution that will get us to zero carbon emissions without covering rural America with wind and solar farms or undermining electric grid reliability?

Robert Bryce calls it N to N—natural gas to nuclear. For the same amount of electricity, a natural gas-fired power plant produces about half as much CO2 as a coal-fired plant.

N to N is a practical, reliable and achievable transition, nationally and globally, to zero carbon electric energy. N to N looks like this: Fracking in the United States has brought an abundant source of low-cost natural gas. Transition all coal plants to natural gas as sufficient natural gas supply is developed, cutting CO2 emissions in half. This change is in progress.

Keep all existing nuclear power plants in operation and restart those that are mothballed.

Focus national energy policy on development of next generation small modular nuclear reactor technology.

Build natural gas and SMR power plants to meet growing electricity demand.

As SMR technology reaches full production, costs will decline. Then, build SMR generation to replace natural gas generation.

In Oregon, that means we need to enable permitting of new natural gas-fired power plants and change the present law that prohibits siting of nuclear power plants here.

Wind and solar will never be more than a small part of the transition to zero carbon. N to N is the scalable solution.