Washington, D.C., Embargoed Until June 12th, 2007 -- "Will the proposed National Renewable Portfolio raise or lower average electricity prices?" "Will a national standard prevent price gouging and "gaming" between states?" "Can electric utilities save money by supporting a national renewable energy policy?" The Network for New Energy Choices addresses these and many other questions in "Renewing America," an empirically rigorous study of how carefully crafted federal energy standards can fix dangerous flaws in the nation's energy grid.
Crafting such a law “may seem simple on its face,” said the study’s lead author, Christopher Cooper, Senior Policy Director for the Network for New Energy Choices. “But design is everything. Only by looking carefully at the unintended consequences of state-based energy programs can one craft a federal policy that fulfills the House and Senate objectives: requiring utilities to use solar, wind and other “renewable” resources; preventing price-gouging and ultimately saving money for consumers.”
The report’s findings include:
- A National RPS would create a level playing field for states. Under the present system, some states enjoy deflated electricity prices from cheap, dirty sources of energy, which leaves ratepayers in other states with more stringent environmental safeguards picking up their tab.
- A national RPS prevents utilities from profiting off of inconsistencies between state mandates. Because Washington’s renewable standards exclude hydropower, for example, Washington’s low cost renewable energy is sold to consumers in neighboring states while Washington ratepayers are forced to buy higher cost renewable energy credits from generators outside the state. In effect, Washington consumers are subsidizing cheaper renewable energy for surrounding states. “Renewing America” shows how a national “renewable portfolio standard,” by creating a uniform definition of eligible renewable fuels, would prevent these kinds of predatory trade-offs by creating a uniform definition of eligible resources.
- Renewable resources can serve as a “hedge” against the financial risks that are inherent in the volatile natural gas market. However, the value of this “hedge benefit” increases as the percent of the RPS mandate increases.
Although the study is embargoed until June 12th, it is now available to reporters at http://www.newenergychoices.org/dev/uploads/Renewing%20America_NNEC_Final.pdf. The authors (biographical sketches below) will also be available to answer questions. To schedule an interview, please contact DeniseHughes@creative-connectors.com or (917) 549-2621.
Biographical Sketches:
Chris Cooper – Senior Policy Director, Network for New Energy Choices: Christopher Cooper founded the Network for New Energy Choices (NNEC), a national non-profit organization committed to reforming U.S. energy policy to expand the energy choices of American consumers. Working with a growing coalition of non-profit groups, municipal officials, business leaders and academics, NNEC is promoting creative ideas for financing community-based energy projects and advocating for progressive utility policy reform. For NNEC, Mr. Cooper has published the nation’s most comprehensive ranking of state net metering programs, has authored multiple trade press articles and is regularly quoted in the national news media on trends utility policy reform.
Dr. Benjamin Sovacool – Senior Research Fellow: A former Eugene P. Wigner Fellow at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Dr. Sovacool recently completed work on a grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate the social impediments to distributed and renewable energy systems. He also served as a Senior Research Fellow for the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research, where he assessed renewable energy issues for the state of Virginia. Currently he teaches in the Government and International Affairs program at Virginia Tech.