Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
T
HE
S
TATES AND
C
OUNTRIES
W
E
R
EVIEWED
H
AVE
I
MPLEMENTED A
V
ARIETY OF
I
NITIATIVES
TO
E
NCOURAGE THE
D
EVELOPMENT AND
D
EPLOYMENT
OF
E
NERGY
T
ECHNOLOGIES
While federal R and D funding has declined and the government has relied on
the market to determine whether to deploy advanced energy technologies, the
states and countries we reviewed have enacted various standards, mandates, and
financial incentives in an effort to deploy energy technologies that address their
energy needs and environmental concerns. The states have focused their efforts on
stimulating the deployment of renewable energy technologies; some states have
also provided incentives for stimulating the deployment of advanced fossil and
nuclear energy technologies. Each of the six countries we reviewed has sustained
long-term efforts resulting in the deployment of one or more advanced renewable,
fossil, and/or nuclear energy technologies. While the countries' initiatives have
not been without difficulties, they have sustained long-term efforts using
mandates and/or incentives to deploy advanced technologies that are providing, or
are expected to provide, significant amounts of energy.
States Are Stimulating Renewable Energy through Standards,
Mandates, and Financial Incentives
Forty-five states have enacted legislation or developed initiatives to stimulate
the deployment of renewable energy technologies, primarily to address their
growing energy demand, reduce adverse impacts on the environment, encourage
local economic development, and/or provide a reliable, diversified supply of
electricity for residents. (See app. III for states' use of five types of standards,
mandates, and financial incentives for stimulating renewable energy.) As of 2006,
(1) 39 states have established interconnection and net metering rules that require
electric power companies to connect renewable energy sources to the power
transmission grid and credit, for example, the monthly electricity bill of residents
with solar-electric systems when they generate more power than they use;[34] (2)
22 states have established renewable portfolio standards (RPS) requiring or
encouraging that a fixed percentage of the state's electricity be generated from
renewable sources; and (3) 45 states offer various tax credits, grants, or loans
including, for example, exemptions from the state sales tax for purchases of
renewable energy equipment and low- or no-interest loans for the purchase of
