Abstract
The electricity sector is a key part of the global greenhouse gas emissions picture; roughly 30 percent of such emissions come from burning fuels to generate electricity and heat.1 Fortunately, the economics of this transition are rapidly improving, particularly through a transition to wind and solar. But this transition won’t happen by itself: Electricity providers, primarily electric utilities, have the knowledge and capital invested in a system run primarily on fossil fuels. A strong policy signal is needed to stimulate electric utility and private sector investment in renewable energy sources as alternatives.
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Notes
- 1.
World Resources Institute, “CAIT Climate Data Explorer” (2017), http://cait.wri.org.
- 2.
Toby Couture, Karlynn Cory, Claire Kreycik, and Emily Williams, “A Policymaker’s Guide to Feed-In Tariff Policy Design” (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2010), vi, http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy10osti/44849.pdf.
- 3.
Load-serving entities (LSEs) are the providers of electricity for retail customers. They include utilities and retail electricity providers.
- 4.
For example, see “PSEG Long Island: Commercial Solar PV Feed-In Tariff” (DSIRE, 2017), http://programs.dsireusa.org/system/program/detail/21865; “Clean Energy Standard” (DSIRE, 2017), http://programs.dsireusa.org/system/program/detail/5883.
- 5.
Matthias Lang and Annette Lang, “German Feed-In Tariffs 2014 (from 08),” German Energy Blog (blog), accessed December 12, 2017, http://www.germanenergyblog.de/?page_id=16379.
- 6.
Fraunhofer Institute, “Energy Charts,” accessed December 12, 2017, https://www.energy-charts.de/power_inst.htm.
- 7.
“Global Offshore Wind Capacity Reaches 14.4GW in 2016,” Offshore Wind, accessed December 12, 2017, https://www.offshorewind.biz/2017/02/10/global-offshore-wind-capacity-reaches-14-4gw-in-2016/.
- 8.
Timothy Jones, “German Offshore Wind Park to Be Built without Subsidies,” Deutsche Welle (2017), http://www.dw.com/en/german-offshore-wind-park-to-be-built-without-subsidies/a-38430493.
- 9.
“Renewable Energy Sources Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz EEG)” (International Energy Agency, 2004), https://www.iea.org/policiesandmeasures/pams/germany/name-22369-en.php.
- 10.
Ibid.
- 11.
Fraunhofer Institute, “Energy Charts.”
- 12.
Kerstine Appunn, “EEG Reform 2016: Switching to Auctions for Renewables,” Clean Energy Wire (2016), https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/eeg-reform-2016-switching-auctions-renewables.
- 13.
See Trieu Mai, David Mulcahy, M. Maureen Hand, and Samuel F. Baldwin, “Envisioning a Renewable Electricity Future for the United States,” Energy 65 (2014): 374–86, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.Energy.2013.11.029; “Investigating a Higher Renewables Portfolio Standard in California” (Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc., 2014), https://www.ethree.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/E3_Final_renewableportfoliostandard_Report_2014_01_06_with_appendices.pdf; “The Low Carbon Grid Study” (California 2030 Low Carbon Grid Study, 2017), http://lowcarbongrid2030.org/; and Alexander E. MacDonald et al., “Future Cost-Competitive Electricity Systems and Their Impact on U.S. CO2 Emissions,” Nature Climate Change 6 (January 25, 2016): 526.
- 14.
“International Energy Outlook 2016” (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2016), https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/ieo/ieo_tables.php.
- 15.
Jesse Jenkins, “What’s Killing Nuclear Power in U.S. Electricity Markets?” (MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, 2017), http://ceepr.mit.edu/files/papers/2018-001-Brief.pdf.
- 16.
Of course, the compliance and renewable energy credit tracking regimes should be synced to prevent double counting and ensure the renewable portfolio standard policy is having its intended effect of driving new investment in renewable generation.
- 17.
For more detailed information on the pitfalls of using tax credits, see Chapter 6.
- 18.
For more information on U.S. renewable energy credit tracking systems, see “Renewable Energy Certificate Claims and Ownership” (Center for Resource Solutions, 2015), https://resource-solutions.org/learn/rec-claims-and-ownership/.
- 19.
Galen Barbose, “U.S. Renewables Portfolio Standards 2016 Annual Status Report,” Slide 5, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2016. https://emp.lbl.gov/sites/all/files/lbnl-1005057.pdf.
- 20.
“Electricity Data Browser” (U.S. Energy Information Administration, December 12, 2017), https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/.
- 21.
Barbose, “U.S. Renewables Portfolio Standards 2016 Annual Status Report,” Slide 34.
- 22.
Technically these resources can be built out of state if they are connected to the state’s grid.
- 23.
“2016 Detailed Electricity Statistics” (China Energy Portal, 2017), https://chinaenergyportal.org/2016-detailed-electricity-statistics/.
- 24.
49.7 TWh was curtailed, compared with a total of 241 TWh generated. Brian Publi- cover, “China Adds 19.3GW of Wind in 2016 but Curtailment Soars,” Recharge News (2017), http://www.rechargenews.com/wind/1210416/china-adds-193gw-of-wind-in-2016-but-curtailment-soars.
- 25.
John Parnell, “China Trials Wind and Solar Certificate Scheme in Move Away from Feed-In Tariffs,” PV Tech (2017), https://www.pv-tech.org/news/china-trials-wind-and-solar-certificate-scheme-in-move-away-from-feed-in-ta.
- 26.
Nagalakshmi Puttaswamy and Mohd. Sahil Ali, “How Did China Become the Largest Solar PV Manufacturing Country?” (Center for Study of Science, Technology, & Policy, 2015), http://www.cstep.in/uploads/default/files/publications/stuff/CSTEP_Solar_PV_Working_Series_2015.pdf.
- 27.
Christian Redl, “The Recent Revision of Renewable Energy Act in Germany: Overview and Results of the PV Tendering Scheme” (Agora Energiewende, 2016), http://rekk.hu/downloads/events/2017_SEERMAP_Redl_EEG%20and%20tendering_Sofia.pdf.
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© 2018 Hal Harvey, Robbie Orvis, and Jeffrey Rissman
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Harvey, H., Orvis, R., Rissman, J. (2018). Renewable Portfolio Standards and Feed-In Tariffs. In: Designing Climate Solutions. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-957-9_5
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