Bottom Line on Renewable Electricity Standards

This fact sheet defines Renewable Electricity Standards (RES) as policies requiring a minimum percentage of electricity to come from renewable sources. It outlines how these policies operate in the United States, noting that as of April 2008, 25 states and the District of Columbia had implemented them. The document discusses eligible resources, the role of 'carve-outs' for specific technologies like solar, and the modest economic impacts on energy prices and business opportunities.

• A Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), also known as a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), is a policy requiring a minimum percentage or amount of electric power generation to be sourced from eligible renewable energy by a specific date. Compliance is typically achieved by retail electric power suppliers purchasing power directly from renewable generators or buying renewable energy credits (RECs).
• Eligible energy resources for RES policies generally include wind, solar electric, solar thermal, geothermal, and landfill gas, with biomass eligible under certain environmental conditions. While fossil fuels, nuclear power, and large hydroelectric facilities are usually excluded, some exceptions exist, such as Pennsylvania allowing waste coal and integrated coal gasification combined cycle technologies.
• Some RES policies utilize 'carve-outs' to ensure minimum demand for specific technologies. For instance, New Jersey's policy required 2.12 percent of electricity generation to come from solar by 2020, and North Carolina has solar carve-outs as well as requirements for electricity from poultry and swine waste.
• As of April 2008, 25 U.S. states and the District of Columbia had implemented RES policies, while six other states established non-binding goals. While the U.S. Congress considered national RES legislation—including a 10 percent standard in the 108th and 109th Congress and a 15 percent standard in the 110th Congress—these measures failed to pass into final legislation.
• The economic impact of RES policies is generally modest, potentially causing slightly higher electricity rates due to new renewable source costs, but potentially lowering natural gas prices by reducing demand for gas-fired electricity. Additionally, these policies can create revenue streams for businesses and homeowners who install qualifying renewable power, such as wind turbines or solar photovoltaic systems, by selling electricity or RECs to suppliers.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Bottom Line on Renewable Electricity Standards. https://www.wri.org/research/bottom-line-renewable-electricity-standards

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Bottom Line on Renewable Electricity Standards. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/bottom-line-renewable-electricity-standards.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Bottom Line on Renewable Electricity Standards |url=https://www.wri.org/research/bottom-line-renewable-electricity-standards |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendbottom, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Bottom Line on Renewable Electricity Standards}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/bottom-line-renewable-electricity-standards}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }