Colorado legislators are bucking the national trend and considering a
proposal that would boost the state’s renewable portfolio standard
(RPS). The RPS requires utilities to obtain a specified percentage of
their power from intermittent renewable sources by a certain date.
Twenty-two of the 29 states with such mandates in place have considered
changing those laws over the past two years.
Colorado’s current RPS requires cooperatives and their utility
suppliers to get 10 percent of their electricity from renewables by
2020. SB 252 would increase the percentage, mandating 25 percent of
their electricity come from renewable sources by 2020.
Supporters of the RPS say the mandates are necessary to reduce
pollution, will lead to the creation of “green” jobs, and will only
marginally increase electricity prices. However, there is little
evidence the mandate will benefit the environment. Renewable sources
such as wind and solar technologies are intermittent and thus require
fossil fuel generators for backup. Running fossil fuel generators in
this way can emit more pollutants than when used as primary power
sources.
READ MORE: http://heartland.org/policy-documents/research-commentary-colorado-renewable-portfolio-standard
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