Renewable Electricity Standard

March 2009

LPPC has adopted the following principles regarding the Renewable Electricity Standard (RES):

• LPPC supports prompt deployment of renewable energy resources.
• Federal financial incentives for public power renewables are not sufficient to support their deployment. Closing the financing gap for public power renewable energy projects through the use of new mechanisms is essential. To the extent the gap remains, public power compliance obligations under the RES should be adjusted downward.
• The RES standard should be set at a reasonable level not to exceed 15% of retail sales in 2020.
• The RES should allow the use of energy efficiency to meet up to 50% of the standard.
• The RES should include a cost-containment mechanism, such as alternative compliance payments to be set at a reasonable level. Any such payment should flow back to the State from which they were made for the purpose of promoting renewable energy production and energy storage investments, without being subject to appropriations.
• A national renewable energy certificate market should be created that would be applicable both to Federal and State RES programs. Language that directs the Secretary to ensure consistency between the Federal and State programs should be added to assist in development of a national market for renewable energy certificates (RECs).
• In some current proposals, RECs from existing renewable energy facilities may be used for an entity's own compliance obligation, but not traded. The proposals are silent on whether these RECs could be transferred by wholesale providers to customers without an existing contract for electricity from a specific renewable energy facility. The RES should permit wholesale providers to transfer RECs from an existing renewable facility to wholesale customers who have a compliance obligation. Because the RES is part of a larger national climate policy, Congress should be recognize either in the RES or in climate legislation, the linkage between the two and should provide appropriate credit for development of renewables.
• Congress should consider excluding non-emitting generation that does not qualify as renewable electric generation from the base of retail sales to which the RES percentage is applied. LPPC looks forward to the inclusion of these positions in new legislation and will work together with House and Senate Committees toward that effort, as these policy principles are extremely important to the LPPC.