California's Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) is one of the most ambitious renewable energy standards in the country Established in 2002 under Senate Bill 1078 and accelerated in 2006 under Senate Bill 107, California's RPS obligates investor‐owned utilities (IOUs), energy service providers (ESPs) and community choice aggregators (CCAs) to procure an additional 1% of retail sales per year from eligible renewable sources until 20% is reached, no later than 2010.The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and California Energy Commission (CEC) are jointly responsible for implementing the program.

This report highlights:
• Major challenges and solutions to achieving a 33% RPS by 2020
• The three‐legged stool: achieving a 33% RPS will require greater coordination between energy policy; resource and transmission planning; and procurement
• CPUC's process to analyze the costs, feasibility, barriers, and solutions to reaching a 33% RPS by 2020

The report asserts that the costs of renewable projects are increasing and the state needs a process to evaluate these costs and resource alternatives.

Construction costs are increasing for both renewable and conventional generation, and the RPS program has seen a rise in bid and contract prices since the program began in 2002. Reaching a 33% target will require procurement of more expensive renewables ‐‐ preliminary analysis indicates that such a target may require a state investment of about $60 billion in generation and transmission from 2010 to 2020.

Web link: http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/NR/rdonlyres/A7691A23-1B7E-...

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CA_RPS_Rpt_to_Legislature_Oct_2008.pdf (545.34 kB)