Do Renewable Portfolio Standards Deliver?
Do Renewable Portfolio Standards Deliver?
https://bfi.uchicago.edu/working-paper/do-renewable-portfolio-stand...
This working paper from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago finds that average retail electricity prices in states after the passage of a renewable energy mandate are 11 percent higher after seven years and 17 percent higher after a dozen years, even though the increase in renewable electricity generation is a minimal 1-4 percent
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Comment
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Comment by Willem Post on January 25, 2020 at 7:48am
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States With and Without Mandated Renewable Portfolio Standards
http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/the-more-wind-and-solar...
Here is an item of interest to many people regarding mandated RPS requirements, which require utilities to sell a certain percentage of their total electricity sales as renewables, such as wind, solar, wood burning, municipal waste burning, etc. Some states also count hydro as renewable.
States with mandated RPS requirements had electricity prices 26% higher than those without.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/05/02/researchers-say-renewable-en...;
The 29 states with mandated RPS requirements (plus the District of Columbia) had average retail electricity prices of 11.93 c/kWh, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The 21 states without mandated RPS requirements had average retail electricity prices of only 9.38 cents/kWh.
https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/
The logical conclusion is, the more RE, the higher the electric rates, regardless of energy mix on the grid.
3) Comparison of California, US and Vermont Electricity Prices, All Sectors
It is important to understand no cost ever disappears. The key issue is allocation (a.k.a., follow the money), which often implies politics, and realizing state and federal energy policy objectives.
Only a part of the costs of RE projects is added to the utility rate base. The other parts are paid for by: a) increasing taxes, fees and surcharges, and/or 2) increasing prices of goods and services, and/or c) adding to federal and state debts. Thus any increase in rates reveals only a part of the cost picture.
The weighted average US prices includes high California prices and quantities, a major component of the weighted average. Table 1 shows the weighted average US price including California. See URLs
http://www.neo.ne.gov/statshtml/204/204_2017.htm
https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/California/
If California were removed, it would lower the US average. A comparison of California versus that lower US average shows California rates, all sectors, increased 28.36% and US rates (wo/California) only 5.45% during the 2010 - 2018 period.
California’s irrational/over-the-top/expensive RE efforts are demonstrating, the more highly subsidized RE, the higher the electric rates. But that is only a part of the cost picture, because not all costs end up in the rate schedules, as shown in section 1.
Vermont: The Vermont rates, all sectors, as posted by EIA, do not include the Efficiency Vermont surcharge and the Electric Assistance Program fee tacked onto electric bills by politicians to finance pseudo-social programs.
The EV surcharge has been increasing from about 6% in 2010 to about 8.0% in 2018 for most households.
If EV and EAP charges were added, Vermont rates increased 16.34% and US rates (w/tiny Vermont) only 7.63% during the 2010 - 2018 period. See table.
http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/efficiency-vermont
Year/All sectors
CA
US, w/CA
US wo/CA
VT wo/EV + EAP
VT w/EV + EAP
c/kWh
c/kWh
c/kWh
c/kWh
c/kWh
2010
13.01
9.83
9.58
13.24
14.03
2011
13.05
9.9
9.66
13.8
14.67
2012
13.53
9.84
9.55
14.22
15.14
2013
14.30
10.07
9.74
14.61
15.62
2014
15.15
10.44
10.07
14.57
15.62
2015
15.42
10.41
10.02
14.41
15.46
2016
15.23
10.27
9.89
14.46
15.57
2017
16.06
10.48
10.05
14.6
15.77
2018
16.70
10.58
10.11
15.09
16.33
Increase, %
28.36
7.63
5.45
13.97
16.34
Household Electric Bill With and Without Efficiency Vermont Surcharge: The GMP energy $/kWh for “households” is significantly greater than for “all sectors”. Here are the data from my recent bills.
1
Billing period
19-Apr
19-Mar
19-Feb
.
20-Dec
.
20-Oct
20-Sep
2
Usage, kWh
513
740
885
869
545
496
3
Total bill w/EEC, $
102.29
139.38
164.39
162.58
108.12
99.30
4
Unit cost, $/kWh
(3/2)
0.1994
0.1884
0.1858
0.1871
0.1984
0.2002
5
GMP energy, $/kWh
0.1645
0.1645
0.1645
0.1645
0.1567
0.1567
6
EE surcharge, $
7.03
10.15
12.13
12.28
7.70
7.01
7
Total bill wo/EEC, $
(3-6)
95.26
129.23
152.26
150.3
100.42
92.29
8
Bill increase due to EEC, %
(3/7)
7.38
7.85
7.97
8.17
7.67
7.60
Germany and Denmark Household Electricity Prices: The above correlates well with this graphic, based on Eurostat data. Denmark and Germany have advanced the most along the wind and solar installation path. They have the highest household electric rates in Europe. See graphic and Appendix.
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Comment by Donna Amrita Davidge on January 24, 2020 at 6:19am
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Yes we know how inefficient and what a ripoff they are.. this helps support that.
Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********
(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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