Renewable and Clean Energy

President Obama’s call for 80 percent of U.S. electricity to come from clean energy sources by 2035 has policymakers considering a host of regulatory options to speed the transition to low-carbon energy sources. Among the alternatives are renewable portfolio standards, which are already in place in several states, and a federal clean energy standard.
 
Using RFF’s Haiku model and other models, our researchers are exploring key questions about these and other policy choices, including potential impacts on the future electricity generation mix, electricity prices, and greenhouse gas emissions; the distributional consequences of different policies; and interactions between state and local policies.
 
RFF experts are also exploring a key challenge to the large-scale use of renewable energy sources: the fact that wind and solar generation varies over time and across locations. Looking at existing and prospective policies in Texas and California, new research asks how intermittency affects the costs and benefits of different policies.
 
Work at RFF on renewable and clean energy is a joint initiative of CCEP and the Center for Energy Economics and Policy.