Download or read book Do State Renewable Portfolio Standards Promote In State Renewable Generation written by haitao Yin and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 10 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Several US states have passed renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policies in order to encourage investment in renewable energy technologies. Existing research on their effectiveness has either employed a cross-sectional approach or has ignored heterogeneity among RPS policies. In this paper, we introduce a new measure for the stringency of an RPS that explicitly accounts for some RPS design features that may have a significant impact on the strength of an RPS. We also investigate the impacts of renewable portfolio standards on in-state renewable electricity development using panel data and our new measure of RPS stringency, and compare the results with those when alternative measures are used. Using our new measure, the results suggest that RPS policies have had a significant and positive effect on in-state renewable energy development, a finding which is masked when design differences among RPS policies are ignored. We also find that another important design feature - allowing "free trade" of REC's - can significantly weaken the impact of an RPS. These results should prove instructive to policy makers, whether considering the development of a federal-level RPS or the development or redesign of a state-level RPS.

Download or read book State Renewable Portfolio Standards written by Matthew H. Brown and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the irreverence, gutsy spirit, and warmhearted hilarity that made Pagan Babies a classic, here is the Italian-American experience served up by the author who has been crowned the Patron Saint of Humor. Before the Sopranos, there were the Cascones....Life al Dente, the new memoir from the author of Pagan Babies, brings the same wit and wonder to the telling of Gina Cascone's Italian-American girlhood...well, boyhood actually. In an Italian family, few things are a greater handicap than being born female, but Gina's Dad generously decided to overlook this shortcoming and raise Gina as a boy -- the son he always wanted. As lawyer to numerous "alleged" mobsters, Dad had some colorful clients who would regularly gather around the basement pool table to talk business, drink, and be hustled by junior high Gina. There was no way Gina was going to turn into one of the big hair girls of Italian-American stereotype, but her journey would have all the bumps that come with that cherished immigrant ambition of moving from steerage to the suburbs in three generations. That sense of dislocation came early for Gina as her family moved from the kind of neighborhood where old men play bocce and the pet frogs are named Nunzio to one where Barbies and frozen food prevail. And though Gina's brains got her into the top high school, she quickly made the lonely discovery that she was the only one there whose name ended in a vowel. In our overly pasteurized and homogenized world, there's a real hunger to find and celebrate our connection to old world roots and traditions. Life al Dente abounds in hilarious stories, but also rewards readers with a genuine and poignant contemplation of cultural identity.

Download or read book State Level Renewable Portfolio Standards Evaluating Their Effectiveness in Increasing Renewable Electricity Generation and Reducing Carbon Emissions written by Matthew J Denneny and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The renewable portfolio standard (RPS) is a key state-level policy instrument meant to encourage renewable energy development and address climate change by mandating increased electricity generation from low-carbon renewable sources. In analyzing the effectiveness of RPS policies, I hypothesize that these policies should increase renewable electricity generation and reduce carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation. Additionally, I hypothesize that more stringent RPS policies should allow for greater increases in renewable energy generation and larger declines in CO2 emissions. To test these hypotheses, I use pooled and fixed effects models to examine how RPS policies play a role in affecting renewable electricity generation and CO2 emissions. My results suggest that these policies increase electricity generation from renewable sources and that the stringency of these policies matters. However, the results are mixed in regard to their effectiveness in reducing CO2 emissions. These findings suggest that RPS policies as they are now may not be the best way to reduce CO2 emissions. Other policies that more directly target emissions may be necessary for states to see the emissions reductions they desire.

Download or read book State Renewable Portfolio Standards written by Lincoln L. Davies and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do states adopt renewable portfolio standards (“RPSs”)? Many have suggested that RPSs mark a “race to the top,” where states adopt more and more stringent regimes in an effort to compete for clean energy jobs. This article challenges that presumption. It shows, by examining empirical evidence on RPS enactments, that state RPSs do not constitute a race to the top because they are not a race to stringency. There are some indicia of a race to the top in RPSs. More and more states are adopting these laws. Many RPS targets also have become more stringent, coalescing around a 20 percent national average. But a more granular look at the data reveals a more complicated picture. This article unpacks that data to explore what is really going on beneath the surface of RPS enactments. It demonstrates that the predominant trend in RPSs is not movement toward stringency but persistent policy diversity. This undermines the idea of a race to the top in renewable energy promotion, in part because inconsistent, changing RPSs deprive investors of consistency and predictability. It also means that there is no need for a federal ceiling on state RPSs and, more critically, that federal action may be necessary to promote renewables if the nation is to move to a more sustainable energy future.

Download or read book Why Do States Adopt Renewable Portfolio Standards An Empirical Investigation written by Thomas P. Lyon and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We present the first empirical analysis of the factors that drive state governments to adopt a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), and the factors that lead to the inclusion of in-state requirements given the adoption of an RPS. We find that states with poor air quality, strong democratic presence in the state legislature and organized renewable developers are more likely to adopt an RPS. Economic benefits do not seem to be an important driver for RPS adoption although they have been widely touted in the legislative process. In-state requirements are more likely in states with poor air quality, rich renewable energy resources, and low amounts of existing renewable electricity generation. In-state requirements are also positively correlated with the percentage of congressional seats occupied by Democrats and negatively correlated with the presence of a Republican governor.

Download or read book Of Paradise and Clean Power written by Clifton Lee Yin and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Renewable portfolio standards (RPS), policies that encourage acquisition of electricity from renewable energy sources, have become popular instruments for discouraging the use of climate change inducing-fossil fuels. There has been limited research, however, that empirically evaluates their effectiveness. Using data gathered by three governmental entities - the federal-level Energy Information Administration and two California agencies, the Employment Development Department and the Department of Finance - this paper investigates the impact of California's RPS, one of the nation's most ambitious such policies, on in-state renewable energy generation. It finds that the California RPS did not bring about a one-time increase in generation with its inception, nor did it compel an increase in generation over time. These results raise questions as to the best way to structure RPS policies in light of growing interest in the establishment of a national RPS.

Download or read book An Econometric Analysis of the Adoption and Stringency of State Renewable Portfolio Standards written by Matthew Augustine Woerman and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 61 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: In recent years, three pressing issues have come to the forefront of public debate in America - climate change, national security, and economic progress. In each case, a stronger emphasis on renewable energy is often given as a potential solution. In this research, I specifically focus on renewable electricity and the policies that have been used to promote or require its use throughout the United States. One of the most widely used of these policies is a state renewable portfolio standard, which mandates a specified amount of electricity that must be renewable electricity. As of April 25, 2009, 30 states, as well as the District of Columbia, had enacted renewable portfolio standards with various levels of stringency. In this research, I consider factors that have influenced state level decisions to adopt renewable portfolio policies and the stringency of the standards they have adopted. To accomplish this, in this thesis I develop two econometric models to determine what factors are influential in a state's decision to adopt a renewable portfolio standard, as well as the stringency of the standard. The results show that six variables - retail electricity price, electricity generation from coal, per capita income, unemployment rate, Cook Partisan Voting Index, and year - are significant in determining if a state had a renewable portfolio standard in a given year, and seven variables - retail electricity price, electricity generation from coal, electricity generation from renewable energy, per capita income, unemployment rate, Cook Partisan Voting Index, and year - are significant in determining the stringency of a state's standard. In other words, it is a combination of several different factors - state electricity markets, economic conditions, and politics - rather than simply one characteristic of the state, that appears to influence a state's adoption of a renewable portfolio standard and the standard's stringency.

Download or read book Renewable Portfolio Standards in the USA written by Olga Gennadyevna Bespalova and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economic growth requires growth of energy consumption. In the second half of the twentieth century energy consumption began to outgrow its production and the United States. Consequently, we observe growing dependence of the U.S. economy on energy imports which is causing political and economic insecurity; increasing pollution and depletion of natural resources. One way to alleviate these problems is to encourage renewable electricity production. Because the electric power industry is the largest consumer of energy sources, including renewable energy, it has become one of the most frequent subjects of the regulatory policies and financial incentives aiming to stimulate renewable electricity production. One of the most promoted renewable energy policies in this industry is a renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which requires electric utilities and other retail electric providers to supply a specified amount of electricity sales from renewable energy sources. Currently 29 states and District of Columbia have the RPSs, while 7 states have goals; but only about two third of those with the RPS have certain targets to meet. To my best knowledge, there are no studies analyzing compliance with the RPSs targets or the role of penalty mechanism in the RPS design on meeting its goal. In my Master Thesis I estimate which states are in compliance with their individual RPSs goals and analyze which factors affect the probability of compliance, with the focus on the role of penalty size, and controlling for complimentary policies promoting renewable energy production. I use a fixed effects linear probability model and state level data. Results indicate that including a penalty in the RPS design significantly increases the probability that states will comply with their goals.

Download or read book Solar Power Renewable Portfolio Standards and Solar Renewable Energy Certificates written by Vanessa M. Evans and published by Nova Science Publishers. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Among the available options for encouraging the increased deployment of renewable electricity, renewables portfolio standards (RPS) have become increasingly popular. The RPS is a relatively new policy mechanism, however, and experience with its use is only beginning to emerge. One key concern that has been voiced is whether RPS policies will offer adequate support to a wide range of renewable energy technologies and applications or whether, alternatively, RPS programs will favour a small number of the currently least-cost forms of renewable energy. This book documents the design of and early experience with state-level RPS programs in the United States that have been specifically tailored to encourage a wider diversity of renewable energy technologies, and solar energy in particular. State-level RPS programs specifically designed to support solar energy have already proven to be an important, albeit somewhat modest, driver for solar energy deployment, and those impacts are projected to continue to build in coming years.

Download or read book Including Alternative Resources in State Renewable Portfolio Standards written by Jenny Heeter and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Currently, 29 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have instituted a renewable portfolio standard (RPS). An RPS sets a minimum threshold for how much renewable energy must be generated in a given year. Each state policy is unique, varying in percentage targets, timetables, and eligible resources. This paper examines state experience with implementing renewable portfolio standards that include energy efficiency, thermal resources, and non-renewable energy and explores compliance experience, costs, and how states evaluate, measure, and verify energy efficiency and convert thermal energy. It aims to gain insights from the experience of states for possible federal clean energy policy as well as to share experience and lessons for state RPS implementation.

Download or read book Statehouse and Greenhouse written by Barry G. Rabe and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2004-02-17 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No environmental issue triggers such feelings of hopelessness as global climate change. Many areas of the world, including regions of the United States, have experienced a wide range of unusually dramatic weather events recently. Much climate change analysis forecasts horrors of biblical proportions, such as massive floods, habitat loss, species loss, and epidemics related to warmer weather. Such accounts of impending disaster have helped trigger extreme reactions, wherein some observers simply dismiss global climate change as, at the very worst, a minor inconvenience requiring modest adaptation. It is perhaps no surprise, therefore, that an American federal government known for institutional gridlock has accomplished virtually nothing in this area in the last decade. Policy inertia is not the story of this book, however. Statehouse and Greenhouse examines the surprising evolution of state-level government policies on global climate change. Environmental policy analyst Barry Rabe details a diverse set of innovative cases, offering detailed analysis of state-level policies designed to combat global warming. The book explains why state innovation in global climate change has been relatively vigorous and why it has drawn so little attention thus far. Rabe draws larger potential lessons from this recent flurry of American experience. Statehouse and Greenhouse helps to move debate over global climate change from bombast to the realm of what is politically and technically feasible.

Download or read book Electricity from Renewable Resources written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-04-05 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A component in the America's Energy Future study, Electricity from Renewable Resources examines the technical potential for electric power generation with alternative sources such as wind, solar-photovoltaic, geothermal, solar-thermal, hydroelectric, and other renewable sources. The book focuses on those renewable sources that show the most promise for initial commercial deployment within 10 years and will lead to a substantial impact on the U.S. energy system. A quantitative characterization of technologies, this book lays out expectations of costs, performance, and impacts, as well as barriers and research and development needs. In addition to a principal focus on renewable energy technologies for power generation, the book addresses the challenges of incorporating such technologies into the power grid, as well as potential improvements in the national electricity grid that could enable better and more extensive utilization of wind, solar-thermal, solar photovoltaics, and other renewable technologies.

Download or read book The Power of Renewables written by Chinese Academy of Engineering and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-01-29 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States and China are the world's top two energy consumers and, as of 2010, the two largest economies. Consequently, they have a decisive role to play in the world's clean energy future. Both countries are also motivated by related goals, namely diversified energy portfolios, job creation, energy security, and pollution reduction, making renewable energy development an important strategy with wide-ranging implications. Given the size of their energy markets, any substantial progress the two countries make in advancing use of renewable energy will provide global benefits, in terms of enhanced technological understanding, reduced costs through expanded deployment, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to conventional generation from fossil fuels. Within this context, the U.S. National Academies, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), reviewed renewable energy development and deployment in the two countries, to highlight prospects for collaboration across the research to deployment chain and to suggest strategies which would promote more rapid and economical attainment of renewable energy goals. Main findings and concerning renewable resource assessments, technology development, environmental impacts, market infrastructure, among others, are presented. Specific recommendations have been limited to those judged to be most likely to accelerate the pace of deployment, increase cost-competitiveness, or shape the future market for renewable energy. The recommendations presented here are also pragmatic and achievable.

Download or read book An Evaluation of the Impact of State Renewable Portfolio Standards RPS on Retail Commercial and Industrial Electricity Prices written by Rakesh Puram and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Utilizing a combination of past papers and studies to triangulate variables this study aims to develop both a rigorous fixed effects regression model as well as a theoretical framework to explain the results. This study analyzes state level panel data from 2002 to 2008 to analyze the effect of RPS on residential, commercial, and industrial electricity prices, controlling for several factors including amount of electricity generation from renewable and non-renewable sources, customer incentives for renewable energy, macroeconomic and demographic indicators, and fuel price mix. The study contrasts several regressions to illustrate important relationships and how inclusions as well as exclusion of various variables have an effect on electricity rates.

Download or read book Impacts of Renewable Portfolio Standards written by Thomas P. Lyon and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPSs) are a key policy measure used by U.S. states to increase their production of renewable electricity. Economic theory shows that RPSs are not first-best policy measures for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions or solving other environmental problems. Nevertheless, they have been politically popular, in part because states hope they will help create new jobs in what they expect will be a growth industry. Research suggests that RPSs tend to be supported by Democratic legislatures in states with good solar and wind potential, are more likely in states with restructured electricity markets, and are less likely in states heavily dependent upon natural gas for electricity generation. Research also suggests RPSs have been successful at increasing renewable generation capacity, have increased the cost of electricity modestly where they have been implemented, and reduce carbon emissions at a cost roughly consistent with estimates of the social cost of carbon.

Download or read book Weighing the Costs and Benefits of State Renewables Portfolio Standards in the United States written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: State renewables portfolio standards (RPS) have emerged as one of the most important policy drivers of renewable energy capacity expansion in the U.S. As RPS policies have been proposed or adopted in an increasing number of states, a growing number of studies have attempted to quantify the potential impacts of these policies, focusing primarily on cost impacts, but sometimes also estimating macroeconomic, risk reduction, and environmental effects. This article synthesizes and analyzes the results and methodologies of 31 distinct state or utility-level RPS cost-impact analyses completed since 1998. Together, these studies model proposed or adopted RPS policies in 20 different states. We highlight the key findings of these studies on the projected costs of state RPS policies, examine the sensitivity of projected costs to model assumptions, evaluate the reasonableness of key input assumptions, and suggest possible areas of improvement for future RPS analyses. We conclude that while there is considerable uncertainty in the study results, the majority of the studies project modest cost impacts. Seventy percent of the state RPS cost studies project retail electricity rate increases of no greater than one percent. Nonetheless, there is considerable room for improving the analytic methods, and therefore accuracy, of these estimates.

Download or read book The Effect of State Renewable Portfolio Standards on Consumer Participation in Green Pricing Programs written by James L. Maltese and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last several years, two mechanisms for increasing the supply of renewable electricity have become increasingly popular: renewable portfolio standards, a state policy of mandating increased production of green power; and green pricing programs, which allow customers to purchase green power through their utilities. These mechanisms have been effective in increasing the adoption of renewable energy; however, it is unclear whether they interact in a way that is mutually beneficial or counterproductive. It is important to understand the effect of renewable portfolio standards on the voluntary market for green energy, especially as Congress considers a nationwide portfolio standard. The effectiveness of a renewable portfolio standard may be undercut if it leads customers to purchase less green power.