Efficiency and sustainability in restructured electricity markets: The renewables portfolio standard

Electricity Journal

Volumn 9, Issue 6, 1996, Pages 37-49

  Rader, Nancy A ^a   Norgaard, Richard B ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0002235204     PISSN: 10406190     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/S1040-6190(96)80262-4     Document Type: Article

References (23)

1. Farhar Barbara. TRENDS IN PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS AND PREFERENCES ON ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY. Feb. 1993;Nat'l Renewable Energy Laboratory. NREL/TP-461-4857.
2. The distributional choice can be informed by economic analysis, however, in the sense that the public can make a better decision if it knows the trade-off between current and future well-being.
3. Montana PSC, "Notice of Issues and Amended Schedule," Question #I.7, Docket No. D95.7.96 October 6, 1995.
4. Howarth Richard B., Norgaard Richard B. Intergenerational Choices Under Global Environmental Change. Bromley Daniel W. HANDBOOK OF ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS. 1995;. Oxford.
5. Howarth, Norgaard. Environmental Valuation Under Sustainable Development. AM. ECON. REV. 82:1992;473-477.
6. Maize Kennedy P. It's the Customer, Stupid'Not 'The Stupid Customer'. ELEC. J. June 1995;85. (guest editorial).
7. The long distance competitors spend about $800 million in advertising annually. THE NEW YORK TIMES. May 19, 1994;C4. (cited in Affected with the Public Interest, NARUC, Sept. 1994).
8. One could argue that the major competitors will acquire renewables in order to gain a marketing edge, but whether renewables would be used as window dressing or to significantly diversify the resource base is an open question.
9. Studies of the Environmental Costs of Electricity. September 1994;U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. OTA-ETI-134.
10. Economic reasoning can help inform the political process with respect to the likely increases in well-being possible for future generations given different reductions in well-being of present generations through, for example, avoiding climate change, but economic reasoning cannot determine whether point B or C is "best."
11. For a review of the history and properties of the social welfare function, see Samuelson Paul A. FOUNDATIONS OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS. 1947;219-228 Harvard U. Press, Cambridge.
12. Supra, note 1.
13. ORS 469.010.
14. Richard B. Norgaard and Richard B. Howarth, Economism, Economic Logic, and the Assessment of Renewable Energy Technologies, ECOLOGICAL ECON. (forthcoming). (Paper commissioned in 1993 by the Office of Technology Assessment project on the Assessment of Renewable Energy Technologies.).
15. Indeed, state efforts to incorporate environmental externalities as "adders" have not had much impact on resource selection. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION, ELECTRICITY GENERATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXTERNALITIES: CASE STUDIES. Sept. 1995;. DOE/EIA-0598.
16. GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE, ELECTRICITY SUPPLY: CONSIDERATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS IN SELECTING FUEL SOURCES. May 1995;. GAO/RCED-95-187.
17. See Calif. PUC, Order Instituting Rulemaking on the Commission's Proposed Policies Governing Restructuring California's Electric Services Industry and Reforming Regulation, D.95-12-063 (Dec. 20, 1995) as modified by D.96-01-009, and "Comments of the American Wind Energy Association and the Union of Concerned Scientists on the Alternative Proposals Issued May 24, 1995, to Restructure California's Electric Services Industry and Reform Regulation," Docket No. 94-04-031, July 24, 1995.
18. Portfolio standards implemented by states would not be in conflict with the Commerce Clause or the Federal Power Act. See Scott Hempling and Nancy Rader, State Implementation of Renewables Portfolio Standards: A Review of Federal Law Issues, prepared for the American Wind Energy Association under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy (Jan 1996); and Richard A. Rosen et al., PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN A RESTRUCTURED ELECTRIC INDUSTRY ch. 6 (Prepared for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners by Tellus Inst., Dec. 15, 1995).
19. Developing green marketing programs and setting a portfolio standard would both entail a public process. However, green marketing programs would entail ongoing program administration and funding decisions, which are avoided with a standard.
20. Compilation of responses received from Salem Electric customers regarding their interest in renewable energy. (Provided by Robert J. Speckman, Assistant General Manager, Salem Electric, June/July 1995).
21. Salem, Ore., Residents to Get What They Want - Renewables. WIND ENERGY WEEKLY. Nov. 13, 1995.
22. For a discussion of the need for public goods R&D, see CALIF. ENERGY COMM'N, RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION AND ELECTRIC INDUSTRY RESTRUCTURING. June 1995.
23. TU ELECTRIC, TU E PLAN 2004: AN ENERGY GUIDE TO THE FUTURE (TU's 1995 IRP plan was created by 30 representatives of its customer base, including residential, commercial and industrial customers, assisted by TU's technical staff. The group used quantitative data and qualitative information to guide the judgments it ultimately made. It decided on a portfolio of resources that included 340 MW of renewable resources, or seven percent of total new resources to be acquired in the next decade.).