Enacting a Federal High-Penetration Renewable Energy Standard

In a new white paper released today by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the organizations offer recommendations on how U.S. policymakers can most effectively design a federal high-penetration renewable energy standard (RES) that enhances grid reliability, creates American jobs, and increases American economic competitiveness globally.

The new white paper, Enacting a Federal High-Penetration Renewable Energy Standard: Building on Proposals to Date and Addressing Important Additional Considerations makes the case for a federal high-penetration RES that embraces the following key features:

• Qualifying technologies should, at a minimum, include wind, solar, hydropower, ocean, tidal, hydrokinetic, and geothermal energy.
• The required percentage of compliant electricity should be at least 50%, on a timeline consistent with climate commitments, recommendations from scientific experts, and other policy goals.
• Alternative Compliance Payments (ACPs) and penalties should be sufficient to achieve RES objectives.
• A federal high-penetration RES should build upon, and not preempt, successful state renewable energy standards.

The new report also addresses important additional issues for consideration when designing a comprehensive federal high-penetration RES, including:

• • Grid reliability and resilience
  • Stranded asset costs
  • The need for expanded transmission and energy storage technologies
  • The importance of a socioeconomically fair transition
  • Complementary policies, like carbon pricing and a technology-neutral tax credit.