The Daily Gamecock

Column: State Renewable Portfolios need to be reworked

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The State Renewable Portfolio Standards and Goals are plans made by states to have a certain percent of its electricity providers use energy produced by a renewable source by a set year. The highest standard is set by the state of Hawaii, which hopes to have 30 percent of its energy renewable by 2020 and then continue to convert to more renewable energy until it reaches 100 percent in the year 2045. On the other end of the spectrum is South Carolina, with a measly goal of two percent by 2021. South Carolina nearly doubled their goal last year but has yet to set a new one. Currently, 13 states don’t even have a standard set.

The Environmental Protection Agency should do its part in making sure states reach a significant, but reasonable, goal by implementing rules and policies that would ensure each state makes an impact. The EPA already implements regulations that ensure each state follows air quality standards, among other things, so the idea isn’t anything new. A policy that sets state standards for renewable energy output would benefit both the environment and the states.

A study done by the Department of Energy in 2013 found that there were a multitude of benefits that accompanied State Renewable Portfolios. Not only did they reduce the amount of harmful emissions that were released into the air, but they also created an estimated 200,000 jobs, reduced the cost of electricity and natural gas and saved the country roughly $7.4 billion.  

Pew Research Center, an unaffiliated social science research center, produced a poll in December 2016 asking Americans if they thought environmental regulations were worth the costs. It found that overall, 59 percent do think it’s worth having stricter environmental regulations in place, compared to the 34 percent that disagreed. Looking into the demographics of those polled, all age groups and all education levels had a majority of people answer that they were in favor of more environmental regulations. The only polarizing factor was how respondents identified politically. Those who identified as more conservative were heavily against more environmental regulations and those who identified as more liberal were in favor of environmental regulation.

In a separate poll conducted in January 2017, Pew Research Center asked Americans if they were in favor of expanding renewable energy sources, or fossil fuel resources. It found that 65 percent of Americans wanted to look into more renewable energy sources rather than expanding on fossil fuels. Again, the only polarizing factor was political affiliation.

According to polls, the majority of Americans are ready to start expanding renewable energy sources. To make a real impact though, each state is going to have to do its part. The EPA should go about implementing a pre-emptive policy that sets standards for how much renewable energy a state should produce by a certain time frame. With the law being pre-emptive, if the state would like to set an even higher goal than that set by the EPA, it can do so. This will help avoid states setting such low goals, that have already been achieved well ahead of their set time.


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