EVALUATING EXPERIENCEWITH RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO STANDARDSIN THE UNITED STATES

摘要

Increased use of renewable energy is one of several promising strategies for reducing emissionsrnof local, regional and global air pollutants, and for hedging against volatile natural gas prices.rnAmong the available options for encouraging renewable energy is the renewables portfoliornstandard (RPS). The RPS is a relatively new policy mechanism, and experience with its use hasrnnot been widely documented and evaluated.rnThis report offers a comprehensive analysis of U.S. experience with the renewables portfoliornstandard (RPS), and has a goal of providing detailed information on lessons learned with thisrnpolicy approach. This report specifically describes and evaluates the design, impacts, and earlyrnexperience of 13 U.S. state RPS policies. These 13 policies share a common goal of encouragingrnrenewable energy supply, but each specific RPS is designed differently. Our evaluation showsrnboth successes and failures with this policy mechanism – some state RPS policies are positivelyrnimpacting renewable energy development, while others have been poorly designed and will dornlittle to advance renewable energy markets.rnWe emphasize the importance of policy design details, and specifically highlight critical designrnpitfalls that have been commonly experienced. Though experience with the RPS is still limited,rnwe have now gained some knowledge of the conditions and design features necessary to make anrnRPS policy work. An important objective of this report is therefore to identify and describe broadrnpolicy design principles and specific best practice design elements that might be used to guidernthe design of future renewables portfolio standards.