Website:

1
Perspectives on Renewable Portfolio Standard
Authority

• NARUC Summer 2007
• July 17, 2007
• Richard Sedano

2
Introduction

• Regulatory Assistance Project
• RAP is a non-profit organization, formed in 1992,
  that provides workshops and education assistance
  to state government officials on electric utility
  regulation. RAP is funded by the Energy
  Foundation, US EPA US DOE.
• Richard Sedano was Commissioner of the Vermont
  Department of Public Service, 1991-2001

3
DSIRE www.dsireusa.org


June 2007
Renewables Portfolio Standards
ME 30 by 2000 10 by 2017 goal - new RE
MN 25 by 2025 (Xcel 30 by 2020)
VT RE meets load growth by 2012
WA 15 by 2020

• NH 23.8 in 2025

WI requirement varies by utility 10 by 2015
goal
MA 4 by 2009 1 annual increase
MT 15 by 2015
OR 25 by 2025 (large utilities) 5 - 10 by
2025 for smaller utilities
RI 15 by 2020
CT 23 by 2020
IA 105 MW

• NV 20 by 2015

• NY 24 by 2013

• NJ 22.5 by 2021

• CO 20 by 2020 (IOUs)
• 10 by 2020 (co-ops large munis)

IL 8 by 2013

• PA 18¹ by 2020

CA 20 by 2010
MO 11 by 2020

• MD 9.5 in 2022

NM 20 by 2020 (IOUs) 10 by 2020 (co-ops)

• AZ 15 by 2025

DE 10 by 2019

• DC 11 by 2022

VA 12 by 2022
TX 5,880 MW by 2015
State RPS
HI 20 by 2020
State Goal

• Minimum solar or customer-sited RE requirement
• Increased credit for solar or customer-sited RE
• ¹PA 8 Tier I / 10 Tier II (includes
  non-renewables) SWH is a Tier II resource

Solar water heating (SWH) eligible
4
Some RPS Purposes

• Public, structured commitment to selected
  resources that gets results
• Impresses the public
• Impresses qualifying resource development teams
  and inspires their confidence
• Takes guess work out of public value of
  renewables (avoids other sources) for monopoly
  service and is competitively neutral
• Can be part of a coherent clean energy strategy
• Market solution (not like PURPA QF contracts)
• Targets may stretch out in time ahead of supply

5
(Should we be saying Clean Energy Standard?)

• Choice of resources mixed policy considerations
  (expansive as possible)
• Truly renewable in nature
• High efficiency DG sources
• Tending to be locally available
• Addressing other economic development or
  environmental or political issues
• Energy efficiency, demand response

6
A National RPS

• Extends purposes to all states applying uniformly
  to all customers (requirement, not a goal)
• Applies to utilities of all ownership structures
• Applies consistently to all states, including
  those without sufficient impetus to adopt a state
  standard
• Would need national tracking system, which may be
  able to meld current regional systems (A REC is A
  REC is A REC, no double counting)
• What about states that have adopted a standard
  will the national standard accommodate or
  obliterate state standards?

7
It Depends

• National RPS can be flexible, accommodating all
  categories of most states
• Some administrative process that is relatively
  easy to manage will keep the categories fresh
• States should be able to qualify what they want
  for their own standard
• National RPS can establish a minimum standard of
  renewable energy and alternative compliance,
  states can exceed it

8
State Concerns

• Preemption (on resource and cost recovery)
• Fed RPS wont shield states from cost concern
• Absence of locally available renewables
• Most states have some renewable sources, but as
  with current regional markets for electricity
  supply and demand of electricity, a market for
  RECs can and will form, and some areas will be
  buyers
• Rates (compared with past or future?)
• Consistency in definition (states already have
  tiers) and alternative compliance (sum, state CE
  funds)

9
Other Concern

• Encouraging new renewable sources while crediting
  existing renewable ones
• Underscores the game that a portfolio standard
  creates
• Best bang for buck of ratepayer dollar focuses
  on new sources
• Existing units use fairness argument to win a
  place in the system
• State systems work this out (tiers seems best
  way), no national consistency

10
Other Concern

• Deliverability does power associated with the
  REC need to be deliverable within the market
  where the REC is sold?
• National program would probably include no
  requirement for deliverability
• Makes market much thicker renewable rich areas
  can mine RECs for the whole country
• May strain credulity of public, or not

11
Why Cant We All Just Get Along?

• Growing consensus on need for alternative, clean
  generating sources gtgt imperative?
• Question of whether lack of state actions is OK
  -- does there needs to be a base?
• Federalism vs. Commitment
• Federal RPS perspective Measure benefit to
  climate compared with other solutions

12
The Regulatory Assistance Project

• RAP Mission
• RAP is committed to fostering regulatory policies
  for the electric industry that encourage economic
  efficiency, protect environmental quality, assure
  system reliability, and allocate system benefits
  fairly to all customers.