Download or read book A Retrospective Analysis of Benefits and Impacts of U S Renewable Portfolio Standards written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As states consider revising or developing renewable portfolio standards (RPS), they are evaluating policy costs, benefits, and other impacts. We present the first U.S. national-level assessment of state RPS program benefits and impacts, focusing on new renewable electricity resources used to meet RPS compliance obligations in 2013. In our central-case scenario, reductions in life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions from displaced fossil fuel-generated electricity resulted in $2.2 billion of global benefits. Health and environmental benefits from reductions in criteria air pollutants (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter 2.5) were even greater, estimated at $5.2 billion in the central case. Further benefits accrued in the form of reductions in water withdrawals and consumption for power generation. Finally, although best considered resource transfers rather than net societal benefits, new renewable electricity generation used for RPS compliance in 2013 also supported nearly 200,000 U.S.-based gross jobs and reduced wholesale electricity prices and natural gas prices, saving consumers a combined $1.3-$4.9 billion. In total, the estimated benefits and impacts well-exceed previous estimates of RPS compliance costs.
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 Retrospective Analysis of the Benefits and Impacts of U S Renewable Portfolio Standards written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This analysis is the first-ever comprehensive assessment of the benefits and impacts of state renewable portfolio standards (RPSs). This joint National Renewable Energy Laboratory-Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory project provides a retrospective analysis of RPS program benefits and impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions reductions, air pollution emission reductions, water use reductions, gross jobs and economic development impacts, wholesale electricity price reduction impacts, and natural gas price reduction impacts. Wherever possible, benefits and impacts are quantified in monetary terms. The paper will inform state policymakers, RPS program administrators, industry, and others about the costs and benefits of state RPS programs. In particular, the work seeks to inform decision-making surrounding ongoing legislative proposals to scale back, freeze, or expand existing RPS programs, as well as future discussions about increasing RPS targets or otherwise increasing renewable energy associated with Clean Power Plan compliance or other emission-reduction goals.
Download or read book The Impact of Renewable Portfolio Standards on Electricity Prices written by Adam M. Berg and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As policymakers balance goals such as mitigating climate change, promoting environmental sustainability, increasing energy security, and protecting the economic interests of their constituents, one of the tools available to them is the renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which requires that electric utilities produce or obtain a certain percentage of their electric power from renewable sources.
Download or read book A Retrospective Analysis of the Benefits and Impacts of U S Renewable Portfolio Standards written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the second in a series of reports exploring the costs, benefits, and other impacts of state renewable portfolio standards (RPS), both retrospectively and prospectively. This report focuses on the benefits and impacts of all state RPS programs, in aggregate, for the year 2013 (the most-recent year for which the requisite data were available). Relying on a well-vetted set of methods, the study evaluates a number of important benefits and impacts in both physical and monetary terms, where possible, and characterizes key uncertainties. The prior study in this series focused on historical RPS compliance costs, and future work will evaluate costs, benefits, and other impacts of RPS policies prospectively.
Download or read book Drivers and 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 states in the United 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 the states expect will be a growth industry. Research suggests that RPSs are 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 on natural gas for electricity generation. Research also suggests that 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 Multi Year Analysis Examines Costs Benefits and Impacts of Renewable Portfolio Standards written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As states consider revising renewable portfolio standard (RPS) programs or developing new ones, careful assessments of the costs, benefits, and other impacts of existing policies will be critical. RPS programs currently exist in 29 states and Washington, D.C. Many of these policies, which were enacted largely during the late 1990s and 2000s, will reach their terminal targets by the end of this decade. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) are engaged in a multi-year project to examine the costs, benefits, and other impacts of state RPS polices both retrospectively and prospectively. This fact sheet overviews this work.
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 Future Costs Benefits and Impacts of Renewables Used to Meet U S Renewable Portfolio Standards written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This brochure provides a brief overview of the report titled 'A Prospective Analysis of the Costs, Benefits, and Impacts of U.S. Renewable Portfolio Standards.' The report evaluates the future costs, benefits, and other impacts of renewable energy used to meet current state renewable portfolio standards (RPSs). It also examines a future scenario where RPSs are expanded. The analysis examines changes in electric system costs and retail electricity prices, which include all fixed and operating costs, including capital costs for all renewable, non-renewable, and supporting (e.g., transmission and storage) electric sector infrastructure; fossil fuel, uranium, and biomass fuel costs; and plant operations and maintenance expenditures. The analysis evaluates three specific benefits: air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and water use. It also analyzes two other impacts, renewable energy workforce and economic development, and natural gas price suppression. The analysis finds that the benefits or renewable energy used to meet RPS polices exceed the costs, even when considering the highest cost and lowest benefit outcomes.
Download or read book External Impacts of Local Energy Policy written by Alex Hollingsworth and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) are state level policies that require in-state electricity providers to procure a minimum percentage of electricity sales from renewable sources. Using theoretical and empirical models, we show how RPSs induce out-of-state emissions reductions through inter-state trade of credits used for RPS compliance. When one state passes an RPS, it increases demand for credits sold by firms in other (potentially non-RPS) states. We find that increasing a state's RPS decreases coal generation and increases wind generation in outside states through this tradable credit channel. We perform a welfare simulation to evaluate the aggregate avoided damage from RPS-induced reductions in local coal-fired pollutants. Our estimates suggest that a 1 percentage point increase in a state's RPS results in up to $100 million in avoided damages over the United States from reduced pollution. We also find substantial heterogeneity in aggregate avoided damages caused by increases in different states' RPSs.
Download or read book Prospective Costs Benefits and Impacts of U S Renewable Portfolio Standards written by and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These slides were presented at a webinar on January 9, 2017. The slides overview a report that evaluates the future costs, benefits, and other impacts of renewable energy used to meet current state renewable portfolio standards (RPSs). It also examines a future scenario where RPSs are expanded. The analysis examines changes in electric system costs and retail electricity prices, which include all fixed and operating costs, including capital costs for all renewable, non-renewable, and supporting (e.g., transmission and storage) electric sector infrastructure; fossil fuel, uranium, and biomass fuel costs; and plant operations and maintenance expenditures. The analysis evaluates three specific benefits: air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and water use. It also analyzes two other impacts, renewable energy workforce and economic development, and natural gas price suppression. The analysis finds that the benefits or renewable energy used to meet RPS polices exceed the costs, even when considering the highest cost and lowest benefit outcomes.
Download or read book Renewable Portfolio Standards in the States written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper reports on renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and how the RPS rules vary from state to state. This variation presents important challenges to successful implementation. Key issues are discussed in terms of resource availability, solar-specific provisions, and political and regulatory consistency, and their impacts on the ability to finance new renewable energy projects. This report emphasizes the fact that a successful RPS policy must balance a state's goals for fuel diversity, economic development, price effects, and environmental benefits.
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 Hidden Costs of Energy written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-05-26 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite the many benefits of energy, most of which are reflected in energy market prices, the production, distribution, and use of energy causes negative effects. Many of these negative effects are not reflected in energy market prices. When market failures like this occur, there may be a case for government interventions in the form of regulations, taxes, fees, tradable permits, or other instruments that will motivate recognition of these external or hidden costs. The Hidden Costs of Energy defines and evaluates key external costs and benefits that are associated with the production, distribution, and use of energy, but are not reflected in market prices. The damage estimates presented are substantial and reflect damages from air pollution associated with electricity generation, motor vehicle transportation, and heat generation. The book also considers other effects not quantified in dollar amounts, such as damages from climate change, effects of some air pollutants such as mercury, and risks to national security. While not a comprehensive guide to policy, this analysis indicates that major initiatives to further reduce other emissions, improve energy efficiency, or shift to a cleaner electricity generating mix could substantially reduce the damages of external effects. A first step in minimizing the adverse consequences of new energy technologies is to better understand these external effects and damages. The Hidden Costs of Energy will therefore be a vital informational tool for government policy makers, scientists, and economists in even the earliest stages of research and development on energy technologies.
Download or read book A Prospective Analysis of the Costs Benefits and Impacts of U S Renewable Portfolio Standards written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report evaluates the future costs, benefits, and other impacts of renewable energy used to meet current state renewable portfolio standards (RPSs). It also examines a future scenario where RPSs are expanded. The analysis examines changes in electric system costs and retail electricity prices, which include all fixed and operating costs, including capital costs for all renewable, non-renewable, and supporting (e.g., transmission and storage) electric sector infrastructure; fossil fuel, uranium, and biomass fuel costs; and plant operations and maintenance expenditures. The analysis evaluates three specific benefits: air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and water use. It also analyzes two other impacts, renewable energy workforce and economic development, and natural gas price suppression. This analysis finds that the benefits or renewable energy used to meet RPS polices exceed the costs, even when considering the highest cost and lowest benefit outcomes.
Download or read book An Analysis of the Impact of Renewable Portfolio Standards on Residential Electricity Prices written by Andrew Larson and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By examining the previous empirical research on RPS policies, this study seeks to identify the controls necessary to build an effective model. These controls are utilized in a fixed effects model that seeks to show how the controls and variables of interest impact electricity prices paid by residential consumers of electricity. This study utilizes a panel data set from 1990 to 2014 to analyze the impact of these policies controlling for generating capacity, the regulatory status of utilities in each state, demographic characteristics of the states, and fuel prices.
Download or read book Changing Resources Changing Market written by Joshua P. Fershee and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. Congress recently passed a new energy bill that, until that last minute, included provisions that would have established a national renewable portfolio standard (RPS). The RPS would have required electric utilities to procure a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable resources or purchase renewable energy credits from other sources to meet the standard. The recent energy bill is just the latest of repeated, and thus far failed, efforts to impose a national RPS. As such, there has been much debate about the potential merits and hazards of a national RPS, and more is sure to follow. Rather than joining this part of the policy debate, this Article considers the effects implementing a national RPS would have on the operation of the energy industry. More specifically, the Article considers what a national RPS would mean for electric utilities, regulators (state and federal), and consumers. The Article begins with an introduction to the most recent national RPS proposal, including a brief summary of both the program's goals and major criticisms of the proposal. This introduction also includes an overview of the current and pending state-level RPS standards. The Article then discusses the primary issues a national RPS would raise for key stakeholders. First, the Article considers what a national RPS would mean for electric utilities - focusing on necessary compliance activities and the possible effects on short- and long-term investment decisions - including infrastructure and RPS compliance sources. Next, the Article discusses the impacts on state and federal regulators, focusing on the development of a renewable energy credit tracking system, the enforcement of the national RPS, and the role regulators at each level will have in the process. Finally, the Article considers the impacts a national RPS could have on consumers with regard to short- and long-term electricity costs. The Article concludes that, although the implementation of any major policy initiative takes significant resources, the biggest hurdle facing a national RPS is political, not technological or economic.
