"A renewable portfolio standard (RPS) is a regulation that requires the increased production of energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal."
A government policy that requires a percentage of electricity generated to come from renewable sources.
Renewable Energy Sources: This topic covers the different types of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass. It is essential to understand these sources to establish the foundation of Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards.
Renewable Energy Certificates (REC): An REC is a certificate for a specific quantity of energy generated through renewable sources. They are traded in the market and help to meet the RPS requirements.
Targets and Mandates: Government authorities set targets for the share of renewable energy that utilities must generate or purchase. This helps to drive the development of renewable energy.
Compliance Mechanisms: This topic covers the compliance methods and strategies for meeting the RPS requirements. Some methods include purchases of REC or generating renewable energy on-site.
Policy and Incentives: The policies and incentives promoted by the government help to stimulate the development of renewable energy. It’s essential to understand the different policies and incentives in place to create an effective RPS.
Cost and Benefits of RPS: It is essential to weigh both the benefits and costs to determine the effectiveness of an RPS. Costs include investment and operational costs, while the benefits include the creation of jobs, reduced reliance on fossil fuels, and environmental advantages.
Technology and Innovation: Technology and innovation lead to lower costs, better efficiency, and more renewables to the grid, making it an essential topic for RPS.
Renewable Energy Standards in different States/Countries: Different states and countries have different policies, incentives, and compliance mechanisms that help in the development of renewable energy portfolios. The topic covers the best-performing standards worldwide that one can adopt.
Challenges and Future of RPS: As renewable energy standards become more prevalent globally, there are challenges, such as intermittency that the grid has to overcome. This topic covers the future of renewable energy standards in light of these challenges.
Technology-specific standards: These standards require utilities to generate a specified percentage of their electricity from a specific type of renewable energy source, such as wind, solar, biomass, or geothermal.
Renewable energy credits (RECs): Utilities or other organizations can earn RECs by generating or procuring renewable energy. These credits can be sold to others who need to meet their own RPS requirements or are interested in supporting renewable energy.
Carve-outs: These create a separate target or percentage for a specific renewable energy source, such as solar or wind.
Group purchasing or aggregation: Purchasing groups or aggregations can pool their purchasing power to buy renewable energy in bulk, which can help reduce costs and increase the number of renewable energy resources.
Feed-in tariffs: These policies guarantee a fixed, long-term price for renewable energy generation, which can provide a stable revenue stream for renewable energy producers and help incentivize the development of new projects.
Net metering: This policy allows customers who generate their own electricity from solar or wind to offset their utility bills by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
Renewable heat standards: These standards apply to the heating sector and promote the use of renewable energy in heating buildings and water.
Renewable gas: These policies encourage the use of biogas and other forms of renewable gas in the natural gas grid.
Green power purchasing: This allows organizations and individuals to purchase renewable energy credits or other forms of renewable energy directly from energy providers.
"Other common names for the same concept include Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) at the United States federal level and Renewables Obligation in the UK."
"Electricity supply companies have an obligation to produce a specified fraction of their electricity from renewable energy sources."
"Certified renewable energy generators earn certificates for every unit of electricity they produce."
"Supply companies pass the certificates to some form of regulatory body to demonstrate their compliance with their regulatory obligations."
"RPS can rely on the private market for its implementation."
"In jurisdictions such as California, minimum RPS requirements are legislated."
"California Senate Bill 350 passed in October 2015 requires retail sellers and publicly owned utilities to procure 50 percent of their electricity from eligible renewable energy resources by 2030."
"Those supporting the adoption of RPS mechanisms claim that market implementation will result in competition, efficiency, and innovation that will deliver renewable energy at the lowest possible cost, allowing renewable energy to compete with cheaper fossil fuel energy sources."
"RPS-type mechanisms have been adopted in 29 of 50 U.S. states, and the District of Columbia."
"RPS-type mechanisms have been adopted in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, and Chile."
"Certified renewable energy generators earn certificates for every unit of electricity they produce."
"Renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal are included in RPS programs."
"RPS programs tend to allow more price competition between different types of renewable energy."
"RPS programs can be limited in competition through eligibility and multipliers for RPS programs."
"Supply companies pass the certificates to some form of regulatory body to demonstrate their compliance with their regulatory obligations."
"Renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal."
"Market implementation [of RPS mechanisms] will result in competition, efficiency, and innovation."
"RPS-type mechanisms have been adopted in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, and Chile."
"Allowing renewable energy to compete with cheaper fossil fuel energy sources."