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USA States reaping the benefits of renewable energy progress

A spotlight on renewable success, Climate Spectator,  13 Apr 2012, Richard Caperton Center for American Progress New Jersey, Texas, and California have very different energy profiles. They use different types of energy to power their economy. They have
different types of utility systems. And they have different expectations of their energy system.
But these states share one important trait: They’re reaping the benefits of renewable energy. New Jerseyans are first-hand witnesses
of how solar power creates new businesses and new jobs. Texans can
thank wind power for keeping the lights on during extreme weather that
struck the state in early 2011. And Californians are using renewable
energy to meet their state’s new greenhouse gas pollution reduction
standards.
Twenty-six other US states also have renewable energy standards, which
require a certain amount of the electricity sold within a state to
come from renewable energy. These policies lead to cleaner air,
economic development, and a more resilient electrical grid.
Despite these facts, though, renewable energy standards have come
under attack. A small but vocal group of right-wing activists and
fossil-fuel advocates claim that these policies are raising
electricity prices for consumers, which in turn is holding back state
economies……
There are no data showing that these standards cause electricity rates
to skyrocket.
Commonsense policies
At the most basic level, every renewable energy standard is the same:
They require utilities to sell a certain amount of energy generated
from renewable sources like wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass,
among others. Beyond that, the details can vary: states can allow
different technologies, such as hydropower or landfill gas; they can
either allow electricity generation from out of state or restrict it
to only in-state generation; and they can either cover all utilities
or exempt certain utilities from the policy.
When state policymakers implemented these standards they crafted them
to meet the needs of their state in a commonsense way. Contrary to
naysayers’ claims, these are not radical policies. In fact, there’s a
long history of bipartisan support for renewable energy standards.
These policies were signed into law by former Republican governors
like George W. Bush (Texas), Christie Todd Whitman (New Jersey), and
Tim Pawlenty (Minnesota), as well as former Democratic governors like
Jennifer Granholm (Michigan), Janet Napolitano (Arizona), and Gray
Davis (California).
There are many reasons why a state would want a renewable energy standard:
— Using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels has many public
health benefits, such as reducing the harmful air pollution that
causes asthma.
— These standards create opportunities for new businesses, which can
build renewable energy projects.
— These standards can drive down the cost of specific technologies
through the ‘learning by doing’ process, in which technologies like
solar panels get cheaper as we gain more experience making them.
There are also some very important – and often ignored – reasons why
these standards can positively impact electricity rates. The Union of
Concerned Scientists has documented how shifting electricity
generation from natural gas to renewables causes natural gas prices to
go down, making the remaining natural gas generation cheaper than it
was before.
Renewable energy standards also ensure resource diversity. In fact,
some states call their renewable energy standard a “renewable
portfolio standard” to emphasise that renewables are a valuable part
of a diverse portfolio of energy resources. Such a diverse portfolio
reduces exposure to any single energy source, reducing risk to
consumers……..
The conclusion is clear: anyone who says they’ve looked at all of the
states and found that renewable energy standards drive up rates is
wrong. There are no data showing a nationwide pattern of these
standards leading to rate increases for consumers. Instead, the data
show that these standards do not cause electricity rates to go up
faster than they otherwise would have, and that the standards are not
responsible for electricity rates increasing faster than average.
The next steps
Now that we know renewable energy standards are an affordable,
effective way to bring the benefits of clean energy to consumers, we
should broaden their reach. There are two ways to do this: create a
federal standard and strengthen state standards.
At the federal level Senator Jeff Bingaman introduced a bill last
month called the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012. This national
standard would include all low-carbon electricity sources – including
nuclear and natural gas – in addition to renewables. While this is
different from many state standards, Department of Energy analysis
shows that this proposed standard would lead to new wind, solar, and
biomass power, just like the state standards.
Some states that have renewable energy standards have found meeting
the standards easier than expected and have amended them to include
more ambitious targets. California, for example, now has a target of
33 per cent renewables by 2020. Colorado’s standard now has a target
of 30 per cent by 2020. Other states can follow their lead and
increase targets to reap more benefits of renewable energy.
http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/spotlight-renewable-success

April 13, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA