Renewable portfolio standard

From SourceWatch
Revision as of 23:06, 18 June 2010 by Cshearer19 (talk | contribs) (SW: →‎Related SourceWatch articles: - add internal link)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

{{#badges: climate change | Navbar-ClimateChange}} A Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a regulation that requires the increased production of energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal. Other common names for the same concept Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) at the United States federal level and Renewables Obligation in the UK.

The RPS mechanism generally places an obligation on electricity supply companies to produce a specified fraction of their electricity from renewable energy sources. Certified renewable energy generators earn certificates for every unit of electricity they produce and can sell these along with their electricity to supply companies. Supply companies then pass the certificates to some form of regulatory body to demonstrate their compliance with their regulatory obligations. Because it is a market mandate, the RPS relies almost entirely on the private market for its implementation. Unlike feed in tariffs which guarantee purchase of all renewable energy regardless of cost, RPS programs tend to allow more price competition between different types of renewable energy, but can be limited in competition through eligibility and multipliers for RPS programs. Those supporting the adoption of RPS mechanisms claim that market implementation will result in competition, efficiency and innovation that will deliver renewable energy at the lowest possible cost, allowing renewable energy to compete with cheaper fossil fuel energy sources.[1]

Since 2009, the US Congress has been considering federal level RPS requirements. The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act reported out of committee in July 2010 by the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources includes a Renewable Electricity Standard that calls for 3% of U.S. electrical generation to come from non-hydro renewables by 2011–2013.[2]

Legislation

The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act was passed in 1978 by the United States Congress as part of the National Energy Act. Part of its goal was to promote greater use of renewable energy. The Support Renewable Energy Act of 2010 (Bill S.3021/111th Congress), introduced by Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John Ensign (R-NV) would amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to authorize the Secretary of Energy to promulgate regulations to allow electric utilities to use renewable energy to comply with any Federal renewable-electricity standard.[3]

List of US states with RPS

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, as of May 2009 there are 24 states plus the District of Columbia that have RPS policies in place. Five other states - North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and Vermont - have nonbinding goals for adoption of renewable energy instead of an RPS. Regulations vary from state to state, and there is no federal policy.[4]

State Amount Year Notes
Arizona 15% 2025 Of this percentage, 30% (i.e. 4.5% of total retail sales in 2025) must come from distributed renewable (DR) resources by 2012 and thereafter. One-half of the distributed renewable energy requirement must come from residential applications and the remaining one-half from nonresidential, non-utility applications.
California 33% 2020
Colorado 30% 2020 Electric cooperatives: 10% by 2020

Municipal utilities serving more than 40,000 customers: 10% by 2020

Connecticut 27% 2020
District of Columbia 20.4% 2020 RECs retain a three-year trading lifetime from their generation date before they must be retired. [5]
Delaware 20% 2019 Suppliers will receive 300% credit toward RPS compliance for in-state customer-sited photovoltaic generation and fuel cells using renewable fuels that are installed on or before December 31, 2014. [6]
Florida 7.5% 2015 In 1999, JEA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sierra Club and the American Lung Association of Florida detailing our commitment to generate at least 7.5 percent of our electricity from green energy sources by 2015. [7]
Hawaii 40% 2030 HB 1464, signed by the governor in June 2009, increased the amount of renewable electrical energy generation required by utilities to 40% by 2030. [8]
Iowa 105 MW 1999 [9]
Illinois 25% 2025
Kansas 20% 2020 10% by 2010, 15% by 2019
Massachusetts 15% 2020 Rises by 1% per year until revised by the legislature. [10]
Maryland 20% 2022 [11]
Maine 10% (new renewable resources; existing RPS is 30% and has been since 2000) 2017 (increasing 1% every year for 10 years, until reaching 10% by 2017)
Michigan 10% 2015 Detroit Edison: 300 MW of new renewables by 2013 and 600 MW by 2015

Consumers Energy: 200 MW of new renewables by 2013 and 500 MW by 2015 [12]

Minnesota 25% 2025 Xcel Energy has its own individual standard: 30% by 12/31/2020. [13]
Missouri 15% 2020 In Nov. 2008 Missouri passed Proposition C, requiring the state's 3 largest utilities to generate or

purchase at least 15% of their energy from renewable sources by 2021. [14]

Montana 15% 2015 For compliance year 2011 through compliance year 2014, public utilities (not applicable to competitive suppliers) must purchase both the renewable-energy credits (RECs) and the electricity output from community renewable-energy projects totaling at least 50 MW in nameplate capacity. [15]
New Hampshire 23.8% 2025
New Jersey 22.5% 2021 Alternate Compliance Credits (ACP) and Solar ACPs (SACP) can be purchased by

retailers and used as RECs and Solar RECs. Starting on June 1, 2008, SACPs will be set according to the following schedule ($/MWh) decreasing by 3% per year until 2016: June 1, 2008 - May 31, 2009, $711; June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010, $693; June 1, 2010 - May 31, 2011, $675; June 1, 2011 - May 31, 2012, $658; June 1, 2012 - May 31, 2013, $641; June 1, 2013 - May 31, 2014, $625; June 1, 2014 - May 31, 2015, $609; June 1, 2015 - May 31, 2016, $594. After May 31, 2016, the BPU will review the SACP annually in consultation with an advisory committee. . [16]

New Mexico 20% 2020 Rural electric cooperatives: 10% by 2020[17]
Nevada 20% 2015 5% solar
New York 30% 2015
North Carolina 12.5% 2021
Ohio 12.5% 2025 Additional 12.5% from alternative sources
Oklahoma 15% 2015
Oregon 25% 2025 Signed May 27, 2010 [18]
Pennsylvania 18% 2020 0.5% solar
Rhode Island 15% 2020
South Dakota 10% 2015 Non mandatory.[19] Apparently the legislature thought it might not be possible to increase the current production from nonrenewables from 50% to 90% in the short time period.
Texas 5,880 MW 2015
Utah 20% 2025 Voluntary
Vermont 10% 2013 Voluntary
Virginia 12% 2022 Voluntary
Washington 15% 2020
West Virginia 25% 2025
Wisconsin 10% 2015

California

The California Renewables Portfolio Standard was created in 2002 under Senate Bill 1078 and further accelerated in 2006 under Senate Bill 107. The bills stipulate that California electricity corporations must expand their renewable portfolio by 1% each year until reaching 20% in 2010. On November 17, 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed executive order S-14-08 which mandated a RPS of 33% by 2020 which sits in addition to the 20% by 2010 order.[20]

Colorado

The Colorado Renewable Portfolio Standard was updated from 20% to 30% in the 2010 Legislative Session as House Bill 1001. This increase is anticipated to increase solar industry jobs from current (2009) estimated 2,500 to 33,500 by 2020. The updated RPS is also anticipated to create an additional $4.3B (U.S.) in state revenue within the industries.[21]

Nevada

In 1997 Nevada passed a Renewable Portfolio Standard as part of their 1997 Electric Restructuring Legislation (AB 366) It required any electric providers in the state to acquire actual renewable electric generation or purchase renewable energy credits so that each utility had 1 percent of total consumption in renewables. However, on June 8, 2001, Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn signed SB 372, at the time the country's most aggressive renewable portfolio standard. The law requires that 15 percent of all electricity generated in Nevada be derived from new renewables by the year 2013.[22]

The Nevada RPS includes double goal. The 2001 revision requires that at least 5 percent of the renewable energy projects must generate electricity from solar energy.[22]

In June 2005, the Nevada legislature passed a bill during a special legislative session that modified the Nevada RPS (Assembly Bill 03). The bill extends the deadline and raised the requirements of the RPS to 20 percent of sales by 2015.[22]

Florida
On Friday January 9, 2009 the Florida Public Service Commission unanimously agreed to require the state's utilities to generate 20 percent of their power from renewable resources by 2020.
This will drastically change the landscape for renewable energy applications for a state that gets less than 3 percent of its power from renewable energy. The proposal calls for 7 percent renewable energy by January 2013, 12 percent by 2016, 18 percent by 2019 and 20 percent by end of 2020.

Ohio

In an April 2008 unanimous vote, the Ohio legislature passed a bill requiring 25 percent of Ohio's energy to be generated from alternative and renewable sources, of which half or 12.5 percent must derive from renewable sources.[23]

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania requires that 18 percent of all energy generated in the state come from alternative and renewable sources by 2021, including 0.5 percent from solar.[24]

Texas

The Texas Renewable Portfolio Standard was originally created by Senate Bill 7 in 1999. The Texas RPS mandated that utility companies jointly create 2000 new MWs of renewables by 2009 based on their market share. In 2005, Senate Bill 20, increased the state’s RPS requirement to 5,880 MW by 2015, of which, 500 MW must come from non-wind resources. The bill set a goal of 10,000 MW of renewable energy capacity for 2025.[25]

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch articles

References

  1. ↑ "The Renewables Portfolio Standard: How It Works and Why It's Needed" Wind Energy Association, accessed June 2010.
  2. ↑ Scott Sklar, "House and Senate Move to Address Climate and Energy: Mixed Bag for Clean Energy" Renewable Energy World, July 7, 2009.
  3. ↑ "S.3021 - Support Renewable Energy Act of 2010" OpenCongress, accessed June 2010.
  4. ↑ "States with Renewable Portfolio Standards" US DOE, accessed June 2010.
  5. ↑ [1]
  6. ↑ [2]
  7. ↑ [3]
  8. ↑ Compare State Renewable Portfolio Standard Programs
  9. ↑ M.J. Beck RPS Edge
  10. ↑ M.J. Beck RPS Edge
  11. ↑ [4]
  12. ↑ [5]
  13. ↑ M.J. Beck RPS Edge
  14. ↑ M.J. Beck RPS Edge
  15. ↑ [6]
  16. ↑ M.J. Beck RPS Edge
  17. ↑ [7]
  18. ↑ [8]
  19. ↑ South Dakota renewable energy objective
  20. ↑ [9]
  21. ↑ [10]
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 http://www.newrules.org/electricity/rpsnv.html
  23. ↑ New Ohio Renewable Energy Law Has National Importance. Energy Daily (2008-04-30). Retrieved on 2008-11-28.
  24. ↑ Exelon - EPURON Solar Energy Center - Fairless Hills, PA
  25. ↑ Texas Renewable Portfolio Standard

External articles

General

Websites

Organizations

Wikipedia also has an article on Renewable portfolio standard. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.

Retrieved from "https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Renewable_portfolio_standard&oldid=482541"