Jacob Derzon with Justin Gallagher
Evaluation of US Renewable Portfolio Standards in Terms of Effectiveness and Intention
In the past several decades, there have been several attempts by lawmakers to increase the use of renewable resources in various states through legislation known as the renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which mandates increased production or consumption of energy from renewable sources. Each state keeps track of whether or not the RPS targets are being reached, but there is no consensus on how effective each of these programs are relative to each other, how they compare to states without similar program, or if any new law was needed.
We studied how much renewable energy generation and consumption changed in each state while the policy was active, and compared this period to conditions prior to the implementation of the law. In addition, we attempted to determine which traits of each RPS effect each program, in order to determine whether a certain set of traits is more favorable to achieve the goal of increased renewable energy usage and consumption within a state. We created a set of metrics used to evaluate each state, and assigned a set of clearly defined characteristics that allowed us to compare one program to another. Finally, we compared the performance of states with RPS programs to a control group of states with no such program. We found that the vast majority of legislation did not lead to an increase in the production or consumption of energy from renewable sources. While a few states did see a corresponding increase in either regard, we found no common traits amongst these different pieces of legislation or states.