Renewable Portfolio Standards

Rachel Feldman () and Arik Levinson
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Rachel Feldman: Department of Economics, Georgetown University, https://www.refeldman.com/

Working Papers from Georgetown University, Department of Economics

Abstract: State-level renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) aim to encourage renewable energy and discourage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the electric power sector in the United States. Do they work? Some prominent government agencies and advocacy groups assert that U.S. renewables growth has been largely due to RPSs. That seems unlikely, given that in most regions, renewables exceed RPS requirements. But it’s not an easy question to answer, thanks to interstate trading and the possibility that states with abundant renewable resources might set the most ambitious RPS goals. We combine the best features of three recent academic studies, using reduced-form and instrumental variables approaches. In some specifications, RPSs do appear to lower carbon emissions and boost wind and solar generation. But the effects are small—consistent with the academic findings and in contrast to the public claims and policy goals. Classification- Q42 Q48

Keywords: solar and wind energy; fossil fuels; renewable energy credits (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32
Date: 2022-01-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-env
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http://ariklevinson.georgetown.domains/RPS.pdf Full text (application/pdf)
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Journal Article: Renewable Portfolio Standards (2023)
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