(January 6, 2016) A
new study estimates that $2.2 billion in benefits came from reduced greenhouse
gas emissions and $5.2 billion from reductions in other air pollution for state
renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policies operating in 2013. The report also
shows national water withdrawals and consumption were reduced by 830 billion
gallons and 27 billion gallons in 2013, respectively. The report, entitled A
Retrospective Analysis of the Benefits and Impacts of U.S. Renewable Portfolio
Standards, was conducted by researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL) and evaluates the benefits and other impacts of RPS
policies.
RPS policies require utilities or other electricity
providers to meet a minimum portion of their load with eligible forms of
renewable electricity. They currently exist in 29 U.S. states plus Washington,
D.C., and have been a driver for renewable electricity generation in the United
States over the past decade. Many states are currently considering whether to
extend, eliminate, or otherwise revise existing RPS policies. “This work is
intended to inform these ongoing discussions by helping states evaluate RPS
programs,” said Berkeley Lab’s Ryan Wiser, one of the report authors.