Pew report sees rapid growth in state renewable energy standards

Pew report sees rapid growth in state renewable energy standards

New York (Platts)--14Jun2006

In the 15 years since Iowa became the first state to enact a renewable
energy portfolio, 22 states and the District of Columbia have implemented RPS
standards and at least one state has such a policy in every region of the
nation except the Southeast, according to a report released today by the Pew
Center on Global Climate Change.

The rapid growth of RPS among states, according to Pew, provides a
real-world model of whether a federal RPS is feasible.

"States are leading on renewables, as they are in so many aspects of
climate policy," said Pew Center President Eileen Claussen. "We need to begin
thinking about how the federal government can be more effective in this area,"
she said, noting that work between states and federal policymakers on RPS has
been "surprisingly" limited.

Pew's report, "Race to the Top: The Expanding Role of US State Renewable
Portfolio Standards," includes case studies of five states: Texas,
Pennsylvania, Colorado, Massachusetts and Nevada.

The report finds an unusually high degree of bipartisan support and rapid
expansion of RPS at the state level. Economic development and job creation
also emerge as drivers.

But states are facing challenges, the report notes, including concerns
that some forms of renewable energy may be getting preferential treatment and
the possibility that public support for siting renewable energy project may be
waning.

The report, for example, said the "formidable opposition" to the Cape
Wind project in Massachusetts and the controversy surrounding the development
of biomass capacity in the state, raise the question of "whether strong
political support for renewables in abstract terms will actually translate
into new renewable capacity that can be successfully sited." Without some
breakthrough on Cape Wind and biomass project, Massachusetts, the report
added, could be forced to "backtrack" on its RPS targets.

The report also said that federal support is needed to help fund R&D and
technology development, provide incentives for uniform grid interconnection
standards at the state level, and create a uniform system for tracing
renewable credits across the country.

Further, the report recommended that the next Congress convene hearings
to "distill lessons from state" RPS practices that could serve as a guide for
a future federal standard. Congress also should explore the possibility of a
two-tier RPS system, with one tier establishing a national framework and
national renewable energy credit trading process, alongside a second tier that
would allow states to enact renewable targets above the federal minimum.

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