The United States (US) ranks 12 out of 120 countries on the ETI 2023. The overall ETI score for the US has seen a 10% gain over the past 10 years, driven by improvements in system performance, particularly in the secure and sustainable dimensions. Within the sustainable dimension, energy intensity and CO2 emissions per capita saw marked gains since 2014, falling by 20% and 22%, respectively. The focus on sustainability is further highlighted by the country’s momentum in this dimension. Within transition readiness, further improvements can be found in areas such as renewable capacity buildout; development of low-carbon jobs; public research, development and demonstration; and sustaining a stable regulatory framework and political commitments.

The country’s ageing energy infrastructure poses significant challenges for the energy transition, which requires massive deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy, a nationwide modernization and expansion of the electricity grid, and broadening accessibility and affordability of clean energy technologies. Achieving this in an equitable way requires directing energy infrastructure and resilience investments to communities and industries that, until now, have struggled to transition. In recent years, several policies have been implemented in the US to accelerate the energy transition. The federal government set ambitious targets for reducing GHG emissions, encouraged the deployment of renewable energy technologies through tax credits and grants, and established mandatory renewable energy standards at the state level. Furthermore, the private sector has made substantial investments in clean energy research and development, and in the deployment of renewable energy projects. The net result of these efforts is reflected in the country’s high ETI scores on regulation and political commitment and decarbonized energy, showing that the US is now well positioned as a leader in the global transition towards a low-carbon, sustainable energy future.

Two notable policies that appear to be working well for the US are the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). “The BIL includes significant funding for transmission and grid improvements ($75 billion), increasing resilience of the nation’s natural and physical infrastructure ($50 billion), investing in a national electric vehicle charging infrastructure ($7.5 billion), and reducing methane emissions from orphaned oil and gas wells ($4.7 billion).”³⁶³⁶,³⁷³⁷ One of the BIL’s most significant features is the creation of the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), dedicated to supporting “demonstration projects in clean hydrogen, carbon capture, grid-scale energy storage, small modular reactors, and beyond. With over $20 billion in initial funding, the OCED will fund research and development and proof-of-concept projects that seek to galvanize follow-on private sector investment to deploy clean technologies”.³⁸³⁸ The IRA provides positive incentives to support the energy transition in “the form of clean energy tax credits along with programs and pools of finance for commercial and emerging clean technologies, infrastructure, and products”, and local content requirements. “It commits roughly $369 billion in funding for climate and clean energy provisions”, and it is estimated it will “reduce US net emissions by 32% to 42% below 2005 levels by 2030, compared to 24% to 35% without it, and scale clean generation to supply up to 81% of all electricity”.³⁹³⁹

Projections from these policies suggest a huge potential for the US energy transition and provide many clean energy companies with the certainty they require. The relationship between incentives provided, capital invested and the effect of emissions, however, is not always straightforward. Additional lessons for the US were identified to enable a more orderly transition.⁴⁰⁴⁰ These include “designing and deploying a capital-efficient and affordable system; strengthening supply chains to provide stable access to raw materials, components, and skilled labour; securing access to adequate land with high load factors for the deployment of renewables while taking into account the needs of local communities; reforming transmission development to include proactive planning, fast-track permitting, and systematic consideration of transmission alternatives; creating market mechanisms for expanding firm capacity to ensure reliable and adequate clean energy supply; and accelerating technological innovation to ensure timely deployment of new clean technologies”.⁴¹⁴¹ Without these additional elements, many of the clean energy benefits on offer may be lost.