In addition to these reviewers, we appreciate the assistance of Michelle Kubik in NREL's Technical Communications Office for her editing support. Of course, any remaining errors are the responsibility of the authors.
As U.S. states increasingly focus on developing renewable energy resources, there is a need to track the progress of development, as well as the policies and support mechanisms being implemented to encourage this development. Beyond tracking, the evaluation of policy measures is necessary to determine their effectiveness, guide future efforts, and efficiently allocate resources.This report addresses each of these needs. It provides a detailed picture of the status of renewable energy development in each of the U.S. states using a variety of metrics and discusses the policies being used to encourage this development.The report then explores the context in which renewable energy development occurs by discussing the factors that can affect the uptake of power generation technologies. The analysis offers suggestions on how policies can be used to address these variables, which leads to tailored policy support that considers the specific circumstances within each state.The analysis presents results of several quantitative evaluation methods that have been designed to explore the link between policy implementation and actual development. These analyses are an attempt to move beyond designed-based policy evaluation and develop performance-based evaluation methods instead.Finally, the report discusses contextual factors, aside from policy, that affect renewable energy development. Understanding contextual factors, which create the framework for renewable energy markets, is essential for effective policy design and implementation. The report concludes with a summary of the main points from each chapter, discussion of next steps, and a list of resources.iii
The goal of the Minnesota net metering policy is to give the maximum possible encouragement to distributed generation assets, especially solar electric systems (MN 2008). However, according to a published set of best practices (NNEC 2008) that prioritize the maximum development of solar markets within states, the Minnesota policy does not incorporate many of the important best practices that may help other states transform their solar energy markets and increase the amount of grid-connected distributed solar generation assets. Reasons cited include the low system size limit of 40kW (the best practices document recommends a 2 MW limit) and a lack of language protecting generators from additional utility fees. This study was conducted to compare Minnesota's policies to national best practices. It provides an overview of the current Minnesota policy in the context of these best practices and other jurisdictions' net metering policies, as well as a qualitative assessment of the impacts of raising the system size cap within the policy based on the experiences of other states.The report finds that increasing the cap may move the state toward its goal of providing the maximum possible encouragement to distributed generation assets, including a larger average size of solar PV systems and a broader array of stakeholders. Quantitative evaluation of the policy changes are necessary to better understand the quantitative impacts on all interested parties (e.g. utility, rate payers, project developers). The report also finds, however, that most states that have increased the size limits have not developed such cost/benefit studies before raising the limit. Reasons cited include the increase being a legislative action and/or the lack of data and financial resources to perform such a study. Program implementers in these states do not report negative impacts on ratepayers as result of the increase in system size limit. This is likely the result of the small relative impact of the systems on the larger utility grids. Implementers cite the lack of data, resulting from the changes in net metering being recent at this stage, as a limitation in quantifying the benefits and costs of expanded net metering system size caps.ii
Executive SummaryThis analysis is an update to the Energy Efficiency Potential report completed by KEMA for the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) and identifies potential energy efficiency opportunities in the residential sector on Kaua'i (KEMA 2005). The Total Resource Cost (TRC) test is used to determine which of the energy efficiency measures analyzed in the KEMA report are cost effective for KIUC to include in a residential energy efficiency program. As much as possible and appropriate, the data used in the KEMA study was updated to reflect the current context on Kaua'i, including measure cost, energy prices, and market saturation.Cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities remain in the residential sector for utility-funded energy efficiency programs. The following energy efficiency measures, separated by end use, receive a passing TRC score:• Water heating There is a high awareness among Kaua'i residents of the residential energy efficiency programs that KIUC currently offers, which currently focus on end uses similar to those listed above. However, the participation rate in these programs is lower than would be expected based on the opportunity for savings identified herein. Additional research into optimizing the marketing, incentives, and delivery mechanism may aid KIUC in garnering greater participation in either existing or new residential energy efficiency programs. Increasing the participation rate relative to program costs will increase the cost-effectiveness of utility-funded residential energy efficiency programs and may result in additional measures receiving passing TRC scores.1 Energy savings from this measure result from a reduced need to heat water. However, when grouping measures into potential programs, this measure is included in an appliance program and not a water-heating-specific program because the marketing and delivery mechanism are more likely to align with a program incentivizing other highefficiency appliances.vi Tables Table 1. Evaluation Perspective for Cost-Benefit Analysis Tests..................................................... Residential Energy Efficiency Measures ................................... Measures Ordered by LCOE ................................................................... Table 8 This report builds on existing efficiency reports, providing an economic analysis of potential residential energy efficiency measures suitable for Kaua'i and information on developing residential energy efficiency programs. NREL identified opportunities for KIUC to costeffectively reduce peak demand and aid residential customers in reducing their energy use through utility-supported energy efficiency programs. The measures were analyzed based on KIUC's current program costs and delivery mechanisms. As such, those measures found to be cost effective in this analysis are cost effective at the program level if the program costs are similar to the existing program costs on a per-measure basis. Although beyond the scope of this analysis, further investigation into opti...
State policies can support renewable energy development by driving markets, providing certainty in the investment market, and incorporating the external benefits of the technologies into cost/benefit calculations. Using statistical analyses and policy design best practices, this paper quantifies the impact of state-level policies on renewable energy development in order to better understand the role of policy on development and inform policy makers on the policy mechanisms that provide maximum benefit. The results include the identification of connections between state policies and renewable energy development, as well as a discussion placing state policy efforts in context with other factors that influence the development of renewable energy (e.g. federal policy, resource availability, technology cost, public acceptance).
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