In current American politics, the topic of climate change is a contentious issue split largely along partisan lines. Still, the extensive amount of evidence showing the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on the environment has led many Americans to call for a ‘green revolution’ and the installment of environmentally friendly practices in not only product but energy consumption. Thomas Friedman once said that “You’ll know the green revolution has won when the word ‘green’ disappears,” (Begley). Although the revolution has not yet been won, one of the ways in which it has manifested in the United States is the Renewable Portfolio Standard or ‘RPS’. Renewable Portfolio Standards mandate electricity industries to provide a certain amount of their
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Despite the fact that RPS policies would make large steps in a clean energy future, they have failed to be implemented on a federal level and are controlled by state legislatures leading to wide variation in policy between states. This is due to party politics and the over-representation of Republican-dominated states reliant on natural gas and coal energy sources in the …show more content…
States like California and Hawaii have some of the most impressive RPS policies in the nation with both aiming to have at least 30% of energy provided by renewables by 2030. Comparatively, Idaho and Utah both have optional RPS systems with low goals in the 20% range. Finally, Florida and Tennessee do not have policies at all. Even within states that do have RPS policies in place, there is a tendency to resort to the cheapest possible method to meet such requirements, which many states are turning to biomass energy which is both inefficient and costly, or cap and trade policies that commodify pollution (Shrimali). The cause for the differences between states can be explained by a multitude of factors and interests that follow the Wilson - Lowi Matrix and diffuse costs and benefits. Although Renewable Portfolio Standards are proliferating in the United States, without federal oversight ensuring uniform application and enforcing solar cut outs, RPS laws fail to make an impact, differ regionally and rely heavily on biomass
Despite the fact that RPS policies would make large steps in a clean energy future, they have failed to be implemented on a federal level and are controlled by state legislatures leading to wide variation in policy between states. This is due to party politics and the over-representation of Republican-dominated states reliant on natural gas and coal energy sources in the …show more content…
States like California and Hawaii have some of the most impressive RPS policies in the nation with both aiming to have at least 30% of energy provided by renewables by 2030. Comparatively, Idaho and Utah both have optional RPS systems with low goals in the 20% range. Finally, Florida and Tennessee do not have policies at all. Even within states that do have RPS policies in place, there is a tendency to resort to the cheapest possible method to meet such requirements, which many states are turning to biomass energy which is both inefficient and costly, or cap and trade policies that commodify pollution (Shrimali). The cause for the differences between states can be explained by a multitude of factors and interests that follow the Wilson - Lowi Matrix and diffuse costs and benefits. Although Renewable Portfolio Standards are proliferating in the United States, without federal oversight ensuring uniform application and enforcing solar cut outs, RPS laws fail to make an impact, differ regionally and rely heavily on biomass