Renewable Portfolio Standards

A Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a regulatory policy that requires electricity providers to obtain a minimum percentage of their power from renewable energy resources by a certain date. Regulations vary from state to state. Some RP Standards specify a type of renewable that is to be used, i.e. wind power or biomass, while others allow any combination that reaches a given sum total. Currently there are 28 states plus the District of Columbia that have RPS policies in place. ¹ The standards range from modest to ambitious depending on the state’s policy and the availability of renewable resources in that particular region. Definitions of renewable energy also vary from different states who adopt renewable portfolio standards.

The efforts to promote use of renewable energy using RPS policies have been particularly successful. For example, Connecticut increased its RPS in 2003, extending the standard to all utilities in the state. Iowa met its standard in 1999. There are also states that allow utilities to comply with the RPS through tradable Renewable Energy Credits. ²

Footnotes

¹: States with Renewable Portfolio Standards, EERE, Department of Energy. Retrieved on: 21 February 2009.

²: Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), Pew Center on Global Climate Change. Retrieved on: 21 February 2009.

Resources

Summary of Renewable Portfolio Standards by the Public Power Council, July 2007. This document gives an simple overview of US state RPS laws.

Clean Energy Group and Clean Energy States Alliance released two reports in January 2009 that access the progress of states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region in meeting state renewable portfolio standards (RPS):

“Progress Report: Review of State RPS Programs in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regions” by Exeter Associates and the Clean Energy States Alliance (Dec 2008), provides the early results of the region’s RPS programs in meeting renewable energy targets, including the amount and types of renewable generation occurring in each of the participating states. Among the report’s findings:
- "Approximately 1100 Megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity has been added between 1998 through 2007 in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region.
- To date, the region’s RPS programs have largely benefited landfill gas, wind, and hydropower. Wind and landfill gas experienced the largest increase in growth since the advent of the RPS in the region.
- Customer-sited and small commercial solar PV facilities stand to benefit significantly from RPS policies going forward as a result of substantial technology specific set-asides in six of the region’s states."

“Increasing Coordination and Uniformity Among State Renewable Portfolio Standards” by Edward A. Holt and the Clean Energy States Alliance (Dec 2008) "examines strategies to increase uniformity and reciprocity between state RPS programs to advance a more robust regional Renewable Energy Credit market. The analysis evaluates opportunities for increased interstate cooperation and identifies approaches that states can take to advance interstate cooperation and compatibility in RPS programs. The report found that greater integration of state RPS programs should lead to expansion of the REC market, spurring development of more renewable energy projects at lower cost."

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Renewable Portfolio Standards

Footnotes

Resources