The busy person’s guide to a 20 percent Renewable Power Standard

Biomass Digest
July 16, 2010 Jim Lane

For a long time there has been discussion of 20 percent renewable power standards in a wide assortment of countries. There’s squabbling about the exact percentages, and the merits of solar, wind, biomass, geo and hydro — but it’s a conversation that hasn’t gone away, and won’t.

Why? To meet the 2050 global carbon goals and provide power for a world population growing in numbers and affluence, a 20 percent RPS is a minimal standard, no more or less than a material first step.

With carbon legislation under consideration this month in the United States Senate, its worth looking at the impact of such a transition on the economics of power generation. These have been studied in depth many times, and industry conferences and the halls of academia and government could be effectively wallpapered with all the pages of impact analysis that have been generated.

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