States for Renewables | Green Energy News

November 7, 2004 – Vol.9 No.33

STATES FOR RENEWABLES.

According to a study from Berkeley Labs of the U.S. Department of Energy, nine state governments - California, New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Rhode Island - have committed more than $345 million to support the construction of 163 large-scale renewable energy projects. When all are completed, 2288 megawatts of renewable energy will be added to the nation’s power portfolio.

Some of the money to build the new capacity has come from a portion of ratepayer’s utility bills directed towards renewable energy projects. But some states are using incentives such as long term power-purchase contracts to attract investment in renewables. Purchase agreements - pre-sold power, guaranteed revenues - reduce the financial risk undertaken by lenders and investors that might incur when funding a project.

To date 707 megawatts have been completed, which means there are 1581 megawatts to go. The continuation of the production tax credit (PTC) for wind energy (and its expansion into other renewables) should hasten the pace of state-supported, state-funded new renewables.

The Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) tracks state efforts to build renewables and was a partner in the Berkeley Labs report. Visit them at http://www.cleanenergystates.org/ . For the full report click http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/ems/cases/EMP_case.html .