Renewable Portfolio Standards
Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) - also referred to as Renewable Electricity Standards (RES) - require retail electricity providers to supply a minimum percentage of their electricity from renewable sources, such as solar, wind and geothermal.
Twenty-nine states plus the District of Columbia have mandatory RPS programs and of those states, approximately a dozen have solar-specific designs (either a solar carve out or a multiplier). Another six states have voluntary renewable goals.
RPS Working Group:
SEIA Recommendations to House Energy & Commerce Committee for Energy Bill Revisions
Draft Version of SEIA RPS asks developed by Polly Shaw/ SEIA Policy Committee
"The Treatment of Solar Electricity in Renewables Portfolio Standards" LBL Study, April 2007
VoteSolar: State Multiplier Turned Carve-Out Stories
Solar Alliance: Definition of DG
"Solar Carve-Outs Deploying Solar within Renewable Electricity Standards" (VoteSolar)
RES side-by-side (Environment America and SEIA input)
Recent Activity:
(6/17/09) The Renewable Energy Works website supports a Renewable Electricity Standard.
(5/20/09) The Baldwin Amendment inserts solar thermal into the RPS title of the American Clean Energy and Security Act. Solar hot water now qualifies as a technology that meets the RPS requirement.
(3/17/09) HR 890
(3/17/09) S 433
(3/17/09) Sen. Bingaman Draft
(3/6/09) RPS Side-by-Side
(3/4/09) Ryan Wiser RPS Presentation
(2/27/09) Bingaman's Proposal: Renewable Portfolio Standard
(2/27/09) American Renewable Energy Act HR 890
(2/10/09) Senate Energy and Natural Resources RPS Hearing Statement
(2/9/09) Clean Energy Group Letter on RPS
(9/22/08) House-passed RES Would Not Help Solar
The House succeeded in passing H.R. 6899, a sweeping energy bill, which includes a federal renewable electricity standard. The RES gives triple credits to distributed generation but fails to provide the necessary solar carve-out in order to actually encourage the deployment solar. Without a solar carve-out, any RES becomes a mandate for wind and biomass only.
The House bill is not expected to be taken up by the Senate and will expire at the end of the legislative session.
(9/15/08) SEIA Working with the State-Federal RPS Collaborative
The State-Federal RPS Collaborative has been working to establish a national dialogue and collaborative among state policy leaders, the U.S. Department of Energy, and other major RPS stakeholders, such as SEIA, to share information and examine opportunities for multi-state and federal cooperation in successful deployment of RPS programs.
The Collaborative is working to identify and address the specific challenges, lessons learned, and solutions to ensure effective RPS implementation by states across the country. The work of the Collaborative will culminate in a National Summit on RPS in Chicago in November 2008.
On the Federal level, RPS legislation has not yet been completed:
- U.S. Senate has passed a federal RPS (RES) on three occasions since 2002.
- U.S. House passed a federal RPS (RES) for the first time in 2007.
- Both the House and Senate energy bills introduced in 2009 include an RPS (RES).
Analysis of state RPS (RES) programs has shown that, if our goal is to encourage a carbon-smart energy mix, it is imperative that a federal RPS (RES) contain a solar carve out (e.g., a minimal percentage of the renewable energy supply coming from solar electric and solar thermal sources).
Additionally, any federal legislation must not preempt more ambitious state RPS (RES) programs which demand a higher percentage of electricity to come from renewable sources or a high percentage to specifically be supplied from solar sources.
RPS Links
Contact: Matt Horowitz
