Full Title: U.S. Renewables Portfolio Standards: 2016 Annual Status Report
Author(s): Galen Barbose
Publisher(s): Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date: April 1, 2016
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
• RPS policies collectively apply to 55% of total U.S. retail electricity sales
• Significant recent policy revisions include new or increased RPS targets in CA, HI, OR, VT, and NY (in development) while KS replaced its RPS with a voluntary goal
• More than half of all growth in renewable electricity (RE) generation (60%) and capacity (57%) since 2000 is associated with state RPS requirements
• Wind energy has been the primary form (64%) of all RPS-driven RE capacity growth to-date, but solar was the largest source (69%) of RPS builds in 2015
• Total RPS demand will double from 215 TWh in 2015 to 431 TWh in 2030; U.S. non-hydro RE generation would need to reach 12.1% of retail sales to keep pace
• RPS demand could require an additional 60 GW of RE capacity by 2030, roughly a 50% increase from current non-hydro RE capacity (114 GW through 2015)
• Achievement of RPS requirements has thus far been high, with states collectively meeting roughly 95% of their interim RPS targets in recent years
• RPS compliance costs totaled $2.6 billion in 2014, averaging $12/MWh-RE and equating to 1.3% of average retail electricity bills; though costs rose from 2013, future growth will be capped by RPS cost containment mechanisms in most states