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Renewable Portfolio Standards

Author

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  • Rachel Feldman
  • Arik Levinson

Abstract

State-level renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) aim to encourage renewable energy and discourage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the electric power sector in the United States. Do they work? Some prominent government agencies and advocacy groups assert that U.S. renewables growth has been largely due to RPSs. That seems unlikely, given that in most regions, renewables exceed RPS requirements. But it is not an easy question to answer, thanks to interstate trading and the possibility that states with abundant renewable resources might set the most ambitious RPS goals. We combine the best features of four recent academic studies, using ordinary least-squares and instrumental variables approaches. In some specifications, RPSs do appear to reduce the use of natural gas to generate electricity and decrease GHG emissions, while boosting the use of wind and solar power. But the effects are small—consistent with the academic findings and in contrast to the public claims and policy goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Rachel Feldman & Arik Levinson, 2023. "Renewable Portfolio Standards," The Energy Journal, , vol. 44(5), pages 1-20, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:enejou:v:44:y:2023:i:5:p:1-20
    DOI: 10.5547/01956574.44.4.rfel
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alex Hollingsworth & Ivan Rudik, 2019. "External Impacts of Local Energy Policy: The Case of Renewable Portfolio Standards," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(1), pages 187-213.
    2. Renae Marshall & Matthew G. Burgess, 2022. "Correction to: Advancing bipartisan decarbonization policies: lessons from state-level successes and failures," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 172(3), pages 1-1, June.
    3. repec:aen:journl:2010v31-03-a07 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Don Fullerton & Chi L. Ta, 2025. "What Determines Effectiveness of Renewable Energy Standards? General Equilibrium Analytical Model and Empirical Analysis," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(1), pages 65-103.
    5. Upton, Gregory B. & Snyder, Brian F., 2017. "Funding renewable energy: An analysis of renewable portfolio standards," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 205-216.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Wang Ying & Igor A. Mayburov, 2025. "The Impact of VAT Preferential Policies on the Profitability of China’s New Energy Power Generation Industry," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-36, July.
    3. Simshauser, Paul & Newbery, David, 2024. "Non-firm vs priority access: On the long run average and marginal costs of renewables in Australia," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
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    5. Sanjay B. Singh & Talal H. Alsabhan & Reem Alshagri, 2024. "Evaluating the Policy Implications of Renewable Portfolio Standards on Grid Reliability in the United States: An Instrumental Variable Quantile Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-22, December.
    6. Son, Yeong Geon & Kim, Sung Yul, 2025. "Distributionally robust planning for power-to- gas integrated large wind farm systems incorporating hydrogen production switch control model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    7. Paul Simshauser & Joel Gilmore, 2025. "Policy sequencing: on the electrification of gas loads in Australia’s National Electricity Market," Working Papers EPRG2509, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    8. Tankwa, Brendon & Ravigné, Emilien & Farmer, J. Doyne, 2026. "Climate policy reforms and the acceleration of solar and wind diffusion," INET Oxford Working Papers 2026-01, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    9. Simshauser, P. & Gilmore, J., 2025. "Policy Sequencing: On the Electrification of Gas Loads in Australia’s National Electricity Market," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2528, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    10. Mamkhezri, Jamal, 2025. "Public preferences for battery electric vehicle policies considering energy mix: A US choice experiment study," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).

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