FEATURED
ACORE’s specific set of policy changes include:
• A long-term federal policy
commitment to support carbon-free electricity generation. According to Wetstone, this commitment could take different forms. A price on carbon is one option; a technology-neutral tax credit is another.
• Federal, state and regional
policies to promote modernization of the nation’s electrical grid, including fair access for renewables in electricity markets, and new incentives for energy storage and other grid technologies.
Under the right set of circumstances, a majority of investors that took ACORE’s survey, 89 percent, said they would double their companies’ cumulative investments over the period 2018-2030.Seventy percent of respondents projected that cumulative private investment in U.S. renewable energy would reach $500 billion over the same period, while 26 percent projected it would reach $1 trillion.
“We think it is really important to provide the opportunity for the U.S. to take full advantage of the tremendous growth and economic opportunity in the renewables sec-
tor, to keep building on the momentum that we have, and to stay within striking distance of U.S. climate objectives [under the Paris Agreement],” said Wetstone. He acknowledged some of the policy and market reforms will be more attainable than others. Increa sed state renewable energy goals, for instance, have become a promising policy driver, particularly in the absence of federal leadership. Ninetyfive percent of survey takers said expanded state renewable energy portfolio standards are important or very important growth policies.
• Increasingly ambitious state renewable portfolio standards.
• Streamlined siting and per-
mitting processes for renewable energy and transmission projects. Market drivers include:
• New business models and
improved economics to scale up the energy storage market.
• Increased corporate renew-
able purchasing through diversified procurement options and new market incentives for middle market and industrial companies.
• Increased public awareness
and support for renewable energy and electric vehicles.
• Continued financial innova-
tion as capital stacks evolve to replace tax equity as a key source of project financing, and as the industry seeks a more standardized approach to finance new project offerings.
Achieving a federal policy commitment to support carbon-free electricity generation is likely to be harder — but despite that, efforts to advance a price on carbon are already underway. Eber underscored that an effort to address the carbon externality is “essential” to driving meeting ACORE’s $1T by 2030 investment goal. “At this point it’s premature to project which specific carbon price or regulatory mechanism will be most viable, but what is clear that the societal costs of greenhouse emissions will need to be addressed in one fashion or another in the early part of the next decade,” he said. “Market-oriented approaches appear to offer the most efficient mechanisms — and have potential to boost our economy, increase employment, and enhance U.S. competitiveness in the booming global marketplace for renewable energy.”
Wetstone said he’s optimistic the investment community can build support at the federal level over the next few years. “It’s easy to overlook the reality of investment in renewable energy has been the No. 1 source of private-sector infrastructure investment in the U.S. for each of the past seven years,” he said. “So what we’re really talking about is continuing that momentum and continuing that growth and being able to take advantage of all the benefits that brings with it from an economic perspective, an investment perspective, and a jobs perspective.” “A lot of this growth is in red areas of the country, rural areas where there aren’t a lot of other…opportunities,” Wetstone added. “So I think we have a history of bipartisan support, and we’re determined to maintain and build on that.”
Source: greentechmedia
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September -Part B 2018
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