States’ policies
are important to solar and wind energy development and in reducing
energy use says a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy’s
(DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

The findings are in report, href=”http://www.nrel.gov/applying_technologies/state_local_activities/sos_2010.html”
target=”_blank”>State of the States 2010: The Role of Policy in
Clean Energy Market Transformation.

“This report shows the importance of the state and local policy
in encouraging clean energy market development,” said Mike Pacheco,
NREL vice president of Deployment & Market Transformation.

“Specifically, state policymakers may be
more effective at driving clean energy investment using a suite of
policies and keeping the policies in place
longer.”

Building on an emerging body of literature identifying
connections between state policy and renewable energy, the href=”http://www.nrel.gov/applying_technologies/state_local_activities/sos_2010.html”>
State of States 2010 report quantifies the connection between
state clean energy policies, renewable energy development and
actual reductions in energy use.

Renewable energy use increased 3 percent across the United
States in 2010, the report says.

• In 2009, Maine had the largest percentage-23 percent-of
  non-hydro renewable generation, mostly from bioenergy.



• Texas leads the country in total non-hydro installed renewable
  energy capacity.



• California is the leader in solar energy installed
  capacity.



• Oregon, California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Montana, New
  Hampshire, and Pennsylvania have the strictest building codes,
  which require high efficiency in commercial and residential
  construction.

It is the first time energy efficiency has been considered in
this type of analysis, and the report shows significant connections
between reduced energy use and building codes, electricity prices
and, in some cases, energy efficiency resource standards.

Even though state policies might apply to a wide variety of
renewable energy resources, the analysis shows that most often
there’s a relationship between policy and solar and wind
development.

So, if states tailor policy to other resources, it might help
increase development of renewable energy sources in addition to
solar and wind.

“State policy efforts can help
sustain the good work started by the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act in creating economic development opportunities
through clean energy.” LeAnn M. Oliver, DOE Weatherization &
Intergovernmental Program Manager.

“State of the States 2010 offers practical information to
policymakers on how to further promote those policies.”

To track the progress of the states and regions toward a clean
energy economy, NREL also provided the analysis and findings for
DOE’s 2009 U.S. State Clean Energy Data Book.

The data book, published in October 2010, summarizes the status
of state-level energy efficiency and renewable energy developments
and supporting policy implementation, and can be accessed as a PDF
and as an interactive data analysis tool.

It identifies the states and regions leading in overall
renewable energy capacity and energy efficiency policy. Key
findings include:

• Policy alone does not explain variability in state clean energy
  growth. When other variables-population, electricity price, and
  number of years a policy is in place-are incorporated into the
  models, the results better explained the variation among state
  clean energy development.
  
  
  
  



• Programs tailored to the specific needs of the technology may
  be more beneficial to renewable energy development. Currently,
  state clean energy policies are more targeted at influencing the
  resource development of wind and solar than biomass and
  geothermal.
  
  
  
  Therefore, even if state policies broadly apply across renewable
  energy technologies, they may not meet the development needs of all
  technologies. For example, a rebate program with a capacity limit
  of 5 kilowatts may be available to geothermal project developers,
  but because electricity generation from geothermal resources is
  commonly on a multi-megawatt scale, the rebate program may not
  provide enough of an incentive to drive development.
  
  
  
  



• State policymakers that implement a suite of policies may be
  more effective at driving clean energy development than those that
  choose a single or small number of mechanisms. For example, a wide
  variety of policies contributes to photovoltaic development across
  states. These policies, along with non-policy factors explain
  variation among states in wind growth. This may indicate that the
  specific policies in place are less important than the grouping of
  policies.
  
  
  
  



• Policies are more connected with clean energy development the
  longer they are in place. This indicates policy longevity is an
  important aspect of effectiveness. Furthermore, due to more
  intensive construction requirements for geothermal and biomass
  projects, a longer study period may be needed to quantify policy
  impacts on the development of these technologies.

NREL provided the analysis for both the State of the States 2010
report and the U.S. State Clean Energy Data Book under its Clean
Energy Policy Analyses project. To learn more about CEPA, visit
www.nrel.gov/cepa.

For more information, see the full report, href=”/pdfs/49193.pdf” target=”_blank”>State of the States
2010: The Role of Policy in Clean Energy Market
Transformation.