The leaders of the US, Canada, and Mexico pledged to generate half of North America's electricity from zero-carbon sources within 10 years. To achieve this, they will need to invest billions in new wind, solar, hydroelectric, and nuclear projects, adopt incentives, and promote regional energy trade. Experts say the largest burden will fall to the US due to its much larger energy market compared to Mexico and Canada. Major transmission lines will also be needed to connect areas with renewable energy supplies to population centers.

1. Three Amigos Summit 2017:
5 Ways to Achieve The NorthAmericanCleanEnergyAgreement
How EnergyIs GoingGreener
The leadersof the UnitedStates,Canadaand MexicopledgedWednesdaytogeneratehalf of North
America’selectricityfromzero-carbonsourceswithinthe next10years.
U.S. PresidentBarackObama,CanadianPrime MinisterJustinTrudeauandMexicanPresident
Enrique PeñaNieto — the trioat the so-calledThree AmigossummitinOttawa,Canada — saidthey
wouldworkto buildmore wind,solar,hydroelectricandnuclearpowerintheirbackyards,and
developcarboncapture andstorage projectsandotherenergy-efficiencymeasures.
Zero-carbonsourcestodayaccountfor about37 percentof the region’selectricitymix.Toraise that
to 50 percentby2025, the three nationswill needtoinvestbillionsof dollarsinnew powerprojects
and adoptgenerousincentive programsandregional trade policiestospurgreaterenergy
development,energyexpertssaid.“It’sabigpush,”Sam Adams,directorof the World Resources
Institute’sU.S.Climate Initiativeandaformermayor of Portland,Oregon,saidbyphone from
Ottawa.“But we thinkit’sa realisticgoal.”Here are five thingsthatneedtohappento make the plan
a reality:
1. The U.S. will have to pull mostof the region’sweight.
Three AmigosSummit
From left,MexicanPresidentEnrique PeñaNieto,CanadianPrime MinisterJustinTrudeauandU.S.
PresidentBarackObamaarrive forthe NorthAmericanLeadersSummitinOttawa,Canada,
Wednesday,June 29,2016. Photo:BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/GettyImages
The U.S. powermarketis about10 timesthe size of Mexico’sandjustoversix timesthe size of
Canada’s,intermsof annual powergeneration.Thusmuchof the burdenwill fall onthe 50 U.S.
states, saidColleenRegan,the headof NorthAmericancross-sectorresearchandenvironment
marketsat BloombergNewEnergyFinance inNew York.
Canada produces81 percentof its electricityfromhydropowerplussmallerlevelsof nuclear,wind
and solar,andthe nationisalreadyontrack to hit 84 percentzero-carbonenergyby2025, Regan
said.Mexicogetsjust22 percentof its powerfromcleanersources,althoughitisslowlydeveloping

2. more windand solarpower.Because Mexico’sgridisrelativelysmall,however,thoserenewables
projectswill greenthe local grid,buttheywon’tdomuchto boostthe regional total.
Abouta thirdof U.S. powercomesfromzero-carbonsources.Nuclearsupplied20percentand
hydropowersupplied6percentof total U.S. electricitygenerationin2015. Renewables,including
windandsolar,accountedfor 7 percentof lastyear’stotal,accordingto the U.S. EnergyInformation
Administration.
2. The U.S. will needtodeploymore windandsolarpower.
US WindPower
Turbinesspinona windfarmin the San GorgonioPassnear PalmSprings,California,April22,2016.
Photo:DAVIDMCNEW/AFP/GettyImages
Comparedtomassive,multibillion-dollarnuclearandhydropowerplants,renewablesprojectsare
relativelyeasiertobuild,Regansaid.Smallerinstallationssprawledacrossthe countrycan come
online fasterthanhulkingprojectssince securingfinancing,ironingoutlogisticsandsecuringpermits
islesscumbersome.
Windand solaralsohave more political andpopularsupport. CongressinDecemberoptedtoextend
twokeyfederal tax incentives — the ProductionTax Creditforwindprojectsandthe InvestmentTax
Creditforsolar projects — whichproponentssaywill fuel asurge innew renewablesinstallations
overthe nextfive years.
3. U.S., Canada andMexicomust builda‘cleanenergy’Keystone XLpipeline.
TransmissionLines
TransmissionlinescarryelectricityfromNRGEnergy'sJolietStationpowerplantinJoliet,Illinois,
May 7, 2015. Photo:ScottOlson/GettyImages
Buildinglarge transmissionlinestospreadzero-carbonpowersuppliesacrossNorthAmericaisa
critical stepto hittingthe 50 percenttarget,saidPaul Bledsoe,aformerclimate advisertoPresident
Bill Clintonwhonowconsultsonclimate policyinWashington.
In placessuchas Texas,the Mexicandesert,ornorthernCanada,the bestsuppliesof wind,solaror
hydropowerare oftenhundredsof milesawayfromdenselypopulatedcitieswheremostof the
electricityisconsumed.Majortransmissionlinescancostbillionsof dollarsandtake yearstosite

3. and build.Butconnectingsuppliestodemandcenterscanalsohelpdrive downenergypricesand
encourage developmentof renewables.
Bledsoe likenedsuchtransmissionprojectstothe Keystone XL,the controversialpipeline thatwould
have carriedhigh-carbonwesternCanadiancrude toU.S.Gulf Coast refineries.Criticsworriedthe
project,whichObamafinallykilledinNovember,wouldhave spurredgreateroil sandsproductionby
bringingsuppliestowidermarkets.Inthatsense,transmissionlines“are the clean-energyanalogue
to the Keystone pipeline,”he said.
4. The three nationsmustconsidercarboncapture and storage.
Coal FiredPowerPlant
Coolingtowersof acoal-firedpowerstationare seennearSelby,England,Sept.25,2015. Photo:OLI
SCARFF/AFP/GettyImages
CCS technologyinvolvesremovingcarbondioxide fromthe exhauststeamof coal or natural gas-fired
powerplants.The emissionscanthenbe pumpeddeepundergroundorusedinindustrial
applications,suchasmakingfertilizerorproducingnew electricity.Proponentssaycapturingcarbon
will be necessaryforthe worldtobothcontinue burningfossil fuelsandreachan international goal
to limitglobal warmingtowell below2degreesCelsius(3.6degreesFahrenheit)above pre-industrial
levels,whichscientistssaymustbe done toavertplanetarydisaster.
So far,however,effortstodevelopCCShave mostlystumbled.The onlylarge-scale,operatingCCS
facilityinNorthAmericaisCanada’s$1.4 billionBoundaryDamfacility.The projectwasformally
commissionedinthe fall of 2014, butit’scapturedfar lesscarbon thaninitiallyexpectedand
encounteredoperationalproblems.Inthe U.S.,a long-awaitedprojectbySouthernCo.inKemper
County,Mississippi,hasfacednumerousdelaysandbillionsof dollarsincostoverruns.
Bledsoe saidCCSfacilitiescouldhelpNorthAmericannationsmeettheirjointcleanenergytarget,
but onlyif governmentsroll outtax breaksandotherincentivestocut developers’costs.
5. It’s up tothe nextU.S.presidenttoformalize the plan.
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