CHANGES IN THE ECONOMY MEAN CHANGES FOR NEW ENERGY

Hard Economic Times Hit State Renewable Energy Goals

Angela Beniwal, 27 March 2012 (Renew Grid)

"Renewable portfolio standards (RPS) have been a big driver of getting more renewable electricity onto the grid. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated that by 2015, generation resulting from RPS will surpass 150 million MWh…[but] a soft economy has led some states to water down their mandates, while the current political situation makes passage of a federal renewable energy standard next to impossible…

"…Maine introduced legislation in 2011 that would significantly reduce its RPS…[A] bill proposed in Washington state in 2011 could temporarily suspend the state's 15% by 2020 RPS during the slow economy…Other states have tried to expand the definition of ‘eligible resources’ in order to make compliance easier. Iowa includes plasma gasification, Maryland considers waste-to-energy a Tier 1 resource, and Oregon now includes nuclear and hydropower…"

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"Nonetheless…Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee…[recently revived federal] clean energy legislation…The Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012…include[s] a federal clean energy standard (CES)…In addition to renewable energy, such as wind and solar, the legislation includes other low-emissions and clean energy resources such as renewable biomass, natural gas, hydropower and nuclear power, as well as "clean" coal with carbon-capture technology…[but insiders are] not optimistic about the legislation being enacted…

"Twenty-nine states plus Washington, D.C., have an RPS, while eight states have voluntary goals or targets. California has the most ambitious RPS, 33% by 2020, which was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, D-Calif., in 2011 and is 86% in compliance]…Legislation signed in 2011 means that the state's RPS now applies to publicly owned utilities and retail sellers…Colorado is another state with an impressive RPS [and in compliance]…As of 2010, Minnesota was in complete compliance with its RPS, which is 30% by 2020 for Xcel Energy and 25% by 2025 for all other utilities…"