Key Takeaways:
- Understanding the purpose of Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)
- A breakdown of how states are setting their renewable goals
- Where to find the latest information on renewable progress in the U.S.
By the end of 2018, a total of 29 states and the District of Columbia elected to make the transition to clean energy by setting Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). The standards set a date by which suppliers must generate a certain percentage of electricity from specific renewable resources.
Some of the most aggressive standards are in California, New Mexico, Washington, Nevada and Washington, DC. Government leaders there have set 100% statewide renewable goals to be achieved by specific dates. Those deadlines are as early as 2030 and as far out as 2050.
Other states have set power portfolio goals that are about half renewables. For example, Massachusetts has a 55% renewables goal by 2050. New Jersey and Maryland have set 50% goals by 2030.
Other states are making great strides in changing their generation portfolio without formally setting RPS. For example, more than 80% of Idaho’s in-state utility-scale power in 2018 came from renewable resources. That is the second-largest share of any state in the US. Hydroelectricity remains a leading generation method for the northern state, that now has added wind, solar, biomass and geothermal to the mix.
To keep current with RPS and other renewable progress across the US, visit the Archive on the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) Today in Energy website pages.
What We’re Reading: “Updated renewable portfolio standards will lead to more renewable electricity generation” as published in Today in Energy from the eia.gov website.