At the Spring 2005 CESA meeting, members agreed to pursue
a RPS Implementation project. Discussions highlighted
a growing consensus that the successful implementation
of RPS policies is critical and warrants a larger
discussion identify implementation challenges and
opportunities. RECs are a tool to achieve RPS compliance
and CESA will also be working with a concentrated
group of state clean energy fund managers, regulators
and private partners to develop practical
strategies and tools for enhancing the effectiveness
of RECs in project finance for clean energy.
See also our webpage on our national State-Federal
RPS Collaborative.
Below are some resource materials concerning RPS and
RECs developed by CESA and others.
 CESA
State
Clean Energy Program Guide: A Review of Emerging State
Finance Tools to Advance Solar Generation (pdf),
by Charles Kubert and Mark Sinclair. March 2010. This
report provides an overview and specific examples of
three creative finance tools that any state can use
to support PV in the context of an existing RPS: solar
set-asides, feed-in tariffs, and reverse auction mechanisms.
These tools are primarily targeted at commercial- and
utility-scale projects, and use of any of them can
reduce the need for states to provide direct rebates
and incentives to PV projects. These tools, if smartly
designed, can allow states to build sustainable solar
markets with programs that are economically efficient,
reward PV system performance, allow for program continuity,
advance market transformation and avoid rebate dependency.
The authors contend that providing special treatment
to PV projects in the context of an RPS is important
if states are to build and maintain public support
for their RPS programs, particularly in cases where
solar is the most widely accessible in-state renewable
energy resource.
Comparative
Analysis of Three Proposed Federal Renewable Electricity
Standards
This paper analyzes potential impacts of proposed national
renewable electricity standard (RES) legislation. An
RES is a mandate requiring certain electricity retailers
to provide a minimum share of their electricity sales
from qualifying renewable power generation. The analysis
focuses on draft bills introduced individually by Senator
Jeff Bingaman and Representative Edward Markey, and
jointly by Representative Henry Waxman and Markey.
The analysis uses NREL’s Regional Energy Deployment
System (ReEDS) model to evaluate the impacts of the
proposed RES requirements on the U.S. energy sector
in four scenarios. May 2009.
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/45877.pdf
An
Examination of the Regional Supply and Demand Balance
for Renewable Electricity in the United States through
2015
This report examines the balance between the demand
and supply of new renewable electricity in the United
States on a regional basis through 2015. This analysis
relies on estimates of renewable energy supplies
compared to demand for renewable energy generation
needed to meet existing state renewable portfolio
standard (RPS) policies in 28 states, as well as
demand by consumers who voluntarily purchase renewable
energy. Given current policies and demand for renewables,
this analysis found an overall national surplus of
renewable energy generation to meet existing RPS
policy targets and voluntary market demand. However,
some regional shortages are projected, while other
regions are projected to have excess renewable energy
supplies. March 2009. http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/45041.pdf
Recommended
Principles and Best Practices for State Renewable
Portfolio Standards, prepared by the State-Federal
RPS Collaborative, January 26, 2009.
Observations
on State and Federal Interaction with Respect to Renewable
Portfolio Standards, offered for consideration
by the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States' RPS Collaborative,
January 2009.
Review
of State Renewable Portfolio Standard Programs in the
Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regions, prepared for
the CESA Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States Collaborative
on RPS Implementation by Exeter Associates, December,
2008. This report serves to review the progress to
date of the states in the region in meeting their RPS
objectives, to identify early successes and challenges,
and to offer recommendations for future success.
Best
Practices for Effective Renewable Energy Credit Programs,
by Mark Sinclair, CESA, December 2008. This report,
preparedby CESA for the Great Lake Renewable Energy
Association,
seeks
to identify
key best practices to facilitate use of
renewable
energy
credits
(RECs)
in
state RPS programs.
The scope of the research included assessment of accepted
methods of defining, monitoring, measuring, and verifying
RECs used by states across the country. The specific
issues that CESA was asked to examine:
- The degree to which RECs are allowed under existing
state RPS programs
- Definitions of renewable energy attributes that
should be included in RECs to meet RPS obligations
- The major elements of existing REC trading
systems
- How RECs from voluntary green power
programs are treated in mandatory RPS programs
Based on this research, CESA was asked to
develop “best
practice” recommendations and key
components to facilitate trading of RECs.
Renewables
Portfolio Standards in the United States: A Status
Report with Data Through 2007,
by Ryan Wiser and Galen Barbose, LBNL,
April
2008.
A PowerPoint
presentation
that summarizes key findings can be
found at: http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/ems/reports/lbnl-154e-ppt.pdf.
CESA
State RPS Policy Report: Increasing Coordination and
Uniformity Among State Renewable Portfolio Standards,
prepared by Edward A. Holt, Ed Holt and Associates
for CESA and the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic RPS Implementation
Collaborative, December 2008. This analysis seeks
to examine and evaluate mechanism and approaches to
increase harmonization and/or coordination among state
RPS programs as well as the merits and challenges they
present.
Northeast
and Mid-Atlantic States Collaborative on RPS Implementation
- Model Resource Eligibility Definitions, September
2007.While there is no single, ideal way to define
eligible RPS resources, there is merit in establishing
some clear, common definitions of renewable resources
for states to consider as RPS programs evolve and mature.
To that end, the members of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
States Collaborative on RPS Implementation have developed
a set of model resource eligibility definitions. In
developing these definitions, members took into consideration
each state’s current definitions as a starting
point; selected definitions where there was substantial
commonality between states already; crafted new definitions
when warranted that are clear, specific, and consistent
with the major RPS policy objectives of the states;
and considered special issues associated with specific
technologies and fuels (i.e. unique characteristics
of hydropower and biomass).
Renewable
Portfolio Standards in the States: Balancing Goals
and Implementation Strategies, by K.S. Cory,
NREL, and B.G. Swezey, Applied Materials, NREL/TP-670-41409,
December 2007.
The
Treatment of Renewable Energy Certificates, Emissions
Allowances,
and Green Power Programs in State Renewable's
Portfolio Standards, Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, April 2007.The full report can be downloaded
from: http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/ems/reports/62574.pdf
A PowerPoint presentation that summarizes the
key findings can be
found at:
http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/ems/reports/62574-ppt.pdf
Weighing
the Costs and Benefits of State Renewable Portfolio
Standards: A Comparative Analysis of State-Level
Policy Impact Projections, by Cliff Chen, Ryan
Wiser and Mark Bolinger. Lawrence Berkeley National
Lab, Environmental Energy Technologies Division.
March 2007.
RPS
Implementation Collaborative presentation, Mark Sinclair,
August 1, 2006
Who
Owns Renewable Energy Credits? This April 2006
LBL report provides information and insight to
state
policy-makers,
utility regulators, and others about different
approaches to clarifying the ownership of RECs.
We focus exclusively
on three distinct areas in which REC ownership
issues have arisen:
•
Qualifying Facilities (QFs) that sell their
generation under PURPA; • Customer-owned generation
that benefits from state net metering rules; and • Generation
facilities that receive financial incentives from state
or utility funds.
Northeast
RPS Compliance Markets: An Examination of Opportunities
to Advance REC Trading. Prepared for CESA by CEEEP
- Rutgers, NJ
Clean Energy Program, and Clean
Energy Group. October 2005.
The
Experience of State Clean Energy Funds with Tradeable
Renewable Certificates. LBL
and CESA release a new report in their Case Studies
of State Support for Renewable Energy series. November,
2003.
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