Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
of the state's abundant renewable resources and improve its environmental
profile, Texas' 1999 legislation established an RPS mandating that state utilities
derive 2,000 megawatts of new generating capacity from renewable sources by
2009. When Texas had nearly reached this capacity by 2005, new legislation
increased the mandate to 5,000 new megawatts by 2015. Electric power retailers
that do not comply with RPS requirements are subject to penalties of up to $50
per megawatt-hour, or 5 cents per kilowatt-hour, as tracked by a renewable energy
credit system. To encourage a wide variety of renewable developments, the Texas
RPS also requires that 500 megawatts of total mandated new capacity come from
renewable sources other than wind, because wind power is the most competitive
renewable energy technology in Texas—98 percent of new installed capacity in
Texas prior to 1999 was wind power. In addition, Texas' RPS set a nonbinding
target of 10,000 megawatts of installed renewable capacity by January 1, 2025.
According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc., as of September
2006, Texas had tripled its renewable energy capacity, installing over 1,900
megawatts of new capacity, representing about 3 percent of its total electricity
consumption. During 2001 alone, Texas installed 912 megawatts of wind
power—more than the entire country had installed in any previous year—and
created 2,500 wind-power related jobs. Texas' 2025 goal would result in an
estimated $5 billion in consumer electric bill savings and the creation of nearly
20,000 jobs, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
California's Solar Programs
Since 1998, California has supported the installation of solar systems—
including photovoltaic systems and solar thermal systems—by establishing
production incentives and rebates for solar energy generators and consumers.
These programs are designed to reduce electricity demand and improve the
reliability of the state's electricity system. In January 2006, California enacted a
$2.2 billion Solar Initiative to install 3,000 megawatts of new solar energy by
2017, supporting the governor's 2006 “Million Solar Roofs Plan” to power 50
percent of all California homes—or 1 million roofs—with solar energy by 2019.
As of January 2006, California had installed over 150 megawatts of new solar
systems on over 20,000 homes, businesses, schools, and government buildings,
according to California state officials and a California environmental group.
California established the Emerging Renewables Program in 1998.
Implemented by the California Energy Commission, the program has encouraged
the use of naturally abundant solar resources by allocating $118 million in rebates
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