Renewable portfolio standards

Issues

Americans want affordable clean energy, and elected officials are responding. Renewable portfolio standards (RPS) are popular, highly effective state-level policies that help meet this demand by requiring utilities to gradually increase the amount of renewable energy delivered to their customers.

Renewable Portfolio Standards are a surefire way to bring more clean energy online.

Renewable portfolio standards let all renewable energy technologies compete, delivering the most cost-effective sources of clean energy to consumers.

By design, an RPS does not hand pick a technology; rather all renewables are able to compete, incentivizing cost reductions and efficiency gains. As a result, RPS policies encourage the growth of additional homegrown electricity sources that diversify our energy portfolios, spur local economic development, reduce pollution, cut water consumption, and save consumers money.

Today, 30 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have RPS policies in place, while another seven states have non-binding renewable energy goals. State RPS targets range widely from 10% to 100% renewable energy. The District of Columbia and Hawaii lead the nation with targets of 100% by 2032 and 2045, respectively.

Zero

In most cases, these health and environmental benefits can be achieved at zero net cost and, in some cases, electricity prices could be reduced by up to 2.4 cents per kilowatt-hour.

$258B

Reductions in air pollution from RPS-driven renewables will lead to $258 billion in health and environmental benefits, and a 4% reduction in energy-related water consumption.

4.7M

Renewable energy growth to meet existing RPS targets will create an estimated 4.7 million job-years of employment.

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