What Impacts Might a Federal RPS Standard Have on Renewable Electricity Generation?
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has examined several proposed Federal RPS standards. One proposal, analyzed in 2007, called for 15% of U.S. electricity sales by 2020 to be generated by eligible renewable resources.2 This proposal included a REC trading program that allowed electricity suppliers to choose between generating renewable electricity and purchasing RECs toward compliance. It also awarded triple credits for electricity produced from distributed resources — that is, produced at a non-central generating station, such as from a roof-top solar photovoltaic (PV) system. Compared to projections without these proposed standards, EIA’s analysis showed a tripling of electricity generated from biomass as well as large increases in wind and solar photovoltaic generation by 2030. According to EIA projections, this increase in renewable generation would primarily displace coal generation but also some nuclear and natural gas generation. Retail electricity prices were pred
