Meeting an RPS is costing less than previously thought in many states. Late last year, a study found that California’s 33 percent renewable portfolio standard (RPS) could result in a “rate impact bomb” in coming years. A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, however, found that for fourteen of the 29 states with an RPS… Keep reading →
At least twenty-two of the 29 state renewables standards have been attacked by legislators or regulators in the last year or are now under attack.
Known as a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) or a Renewable Energy Standard (RES), these mandates require utilities to obtain a portion of their power from renewable sources by a certain date. Research shows they add less than 5 percent, on average, to the cost of electricity bills and are an effective driver of renewables growth. Keep reading →
Dear Editorial Board,
The state of Connecticut is about to consider its Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) – which currently requires at least 20 percent of electricity come from renewable sources like wind and solar by 2020. A hearing on legislation to update the RPS was held last week, with the Energy & Technology Committee scheduled to act on energy bills on March 28. At issue: What types of energy should be included in the RPS, and is there a role for large Canadian hydropower? Keep reading →
On Friday, March 1st, 2013, NRG Energy President & CEO David Crane took the stage at the MIT Energy Conference to offer the Friday Keynote Address to a packed theater.
MIT Energy Initiative Executive Director Melanie Kenderdine moderated the Friday Keynote in a one-on-one Davos-style conversational interview. In it, she asked Crane to offer his advice to the yet-to-be-named incoming Department of Energy nominee. The question timed nicely with the White House announcement on the following Monday, which put forward MIT Professor and MIT Energy Initiative Director Dr. Ernest J. Moniz as the nominee for Secretary of the DOE. Keep reading →
James Hughes, CEO of First Solar, recently gave a hugely interesting interview to Australia’s Renew Economy in which he discussed his company’s future, the state of the global solar market.
Hughes’ views on utility scale v. rooftop solar are intriguing and worth reading, as First Solar is one of the largest solar manufacturers in the world and a major player in the U.S. utility-scale solar market. The company has paid considerably less attention to small-scale commercial and residential solar, and this focus is reflected in Hughes’ comments about the future of distributed renewable energy generation: Keep reading →
There is a looming renewable energy crisis, but it’s probably not the one you think. While national headlines over the past few months have focused on controversial federal loan guarantees, or the approaching expiration of key tax credits, the threat to renewable energy is much deeper than just these two areas.
Through Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), 29 states and the District of Columbia require electric utilities that supply power to their residents to obtain a specified percentage of their electricity from renewable energy sources by a specified date. For the last decade, RPS has been a resounding bipartisan success story, popular in both “red” and “blue” states alike. Today, they are the linchpin of our country’s investment in renewables, setting the requirement that a host of other public subsidies, including tax credits, are intended to support. Keep reading →
Allowing power from electricity storage to be counted toward meeting renewable portfolio standards would boost integration of advanced storage technologies into the electricity system, speakers told the Electricity Storage Association conference in Washington last week.
Terry Boston, CEO of PJM, the nation’s largest grid operator, said he’d like to see states let up to 25% of their RPS be met with storage when the storage systems are fed by clean sources like wind and solar. Keep reading →
State Renewable Portfolio Standards may come under increasing pressure amid low natural gas prices, excess power generation capacity and the cost of compliance, leading energy analyst says.
“The world for renewables today is quite different from the renewables world we faced over the last several years,” Ron Norman, renewable energy specialist at PA Consulting Group, told a symposium held in San Francisco last week. “Before 2009, we had extraordinarily high gas prices and pending C02 legislation, low growth throughout the US and since that time we’ve had a crash in natural gas prices.” Keep reading →
Wind is an important aspect of utilities’ renewable portfolio standards and the Midwest Independent System Operator is committed to ensuring wind power is utilized efficiently and reliably. That is the message MISO President and CEO John R. Bear delivered to a recent American Wind Energy Association conference.
“MISO is committed to improving our ability to reliably manage all generation resources in order to continue providing the lowest-cost energy to our members and their customers. We look forward to working closely with state regulators to implement renewables as a significant aspect of our members’ renewable portfolio standard in an efficient and reliable manner,” said Bear. Keep reading →
Jared Anderson
Conway Irwin
Peter Gardett