Resources

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPSs) are a policy tool enacted by many states to stimulate growth of the renewable energy industry. They require utilities to generate or purchase a certain amount of their electricity from renewable energy by a specific date. If a utility does not meet this goal, they are often subject to a penalty known as an Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP). Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), called Alternative Energy Credits (AECs) in PA are tradable credits which represent the electricity generated from a renewable resource that utilities can purchase to meet their RPS goal. Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) are a form of RECS that represent electricity generated from a solar system. RECs are subject to market dynamics with the set ACP effectively functioning as a price floor. RPSs are different in every state.

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPSs) are a policy tool enacted by many states to stimulate growth of the renewable energy industry. They require utilities to generate or purchase a certain amount of their electricity from renewable energy within a specified time frame. If a utility does not meet this goal, they are often subject to a penalty known as an Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP). Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) are tradable credits which represent the electricity generated from a renewable resource that utilities can purchase to meet their RPS goal. Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) are a form of RECS that represent electricity generated from a solar system. RECs are subject to market dynamics with the set ACP effectively functioning as a price floor. RPSs are different in every state.

Utility-scale solar projects have grown rapidly in number and size over the last few years, driven in part by strong renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and federal incentives designed to stimulate investment in renewable energy technologies.

To stimulate investment in renewable energy generation projects, the federal government developed a series of support structures that reduce taxes for eligible investors--the investment tax credit, the production tax credit, and accelerated depreciation.

Establishing interconnection to the grid is a recognized barrier to the deployment of distributed energy generation. This report compares interconnection processes for photovoltaic projects in California and Germany.

Concentrating solar power (CSP) deployed with thermal energy storage (TES) provides a dispatchable source of renewable energy. The value of CSP with TES, as with other potential generation resources, needs to be established using traditional utility planning tools.