Congress got it wrong: the case for a national Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and implications for policy

Reliance on state-based action fosters uncertain regulatory environments for potential investors and creates inherent inequities between ratepayers in some states that are paying for “free riders” in others. Unlike previous studies concerning a national RPS, this note does not attempt to make the case for RPS as a particular policy mechanism, nor does it focus exclusively on the benefits of renewable energy. Rather, it compares the benefits of a federal RPS versus a patchwork of state-based RPS policies.