About Renewable Portfolio Standard
The Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a statutory requirement to achieve a renewable goal by a certain date. The RPS requires a certain, gradually increasing, percentage of the electricity sold in MA to come from renewable energy, thus stimulating a green power market. The percentage began at 1% in 2003 and has increased every year since (see table below). This requirement is almost entirely met using purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates.
Legislature defines renewable energy generating sources for the purposes of RPS as:
- solar photovoltaic or solar thermal electric energy
- wind energy
- ocean thermal, wave or tidal energy
- fuel cells utilizing renewable fuels
- landfill gas
- waste-to-energy which is a component of conventional municipal solid waste plant technology in commercial use
- naturally flowing water and hydroelectric
- low emission advanced biomass power conversion technologies using fuels such as wood, by-products or waste from agricultural crops, food or animals, energy crops, biogas, liquid biofuel including but not limited to biodiesel, organic refuse-derived fuel, or algae; or
- geothermal energy.
In simple terms, the state-mandated minimum percentage* of renewably sourced electricity in the Massachusetts electrical supply for each year is:
| Total % of Classes I and II (i.e. "classic renewables" such as solar, wind, hydro, biomass, etc.) |
Class I** |
Class II** |
Waste Energy** |
APS** | Total % | |
| 2009 | 7.6% | 4% | 3.6% | 3.5% | 1% | 12.1% |
| 2010 | 8.6% | 5% | 3.6% | 3.5% | 1.5% | 13.6% |
| 2011 | 9.6% | 6% | 3.6% | 3.5% | 2% | 15.1% |
| 2012 | 10.6% | 7% | 3.6% | 3.5% | 2.5% | 16.6% |
| 2013 | 9.5% | 8% | 1.5% | 3.5% | 3% | 16.0% |
| 2014 | 10.8% | 9% | 1.75% | 3.5% | 3.5% | 17.8% |
| 2015 | 12.0% | 10% | 2% | 3.5% | 3.75% | 19.3% |
| 2016 | 13.5% | 11% | 2.5% | 3.5% | 4% | 21.0% |
*assuming that: a) the electrical loads are under the contract after 1/1/2009 for Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard Class II & Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (APS), and b) the utility met their Renewable Portfolio Standard obligations (i.e. did not instead pay alternative compliance payment to avoid meeting the RPS obligation).
**The Renewable Portfolio Standards are broken into 3 general categories:
1) % of electrical supply from Class I Renewables (with specified minimum provisions for solar energy, called Solar Carve Outs I and II):
- Solar photovoltaic
- Solar thermal electric
- Wind energy
- Small hydropower
- Landfill methane and anaerobic digester gas
- Marine or hydrokinetic energy
- Geothermal energy
- Eligible biomass fuel
2) % of electrical supply from Class II:
- Renewables
- Solar photovoltaic
- Solar thermal electric
- Wind energy
- Small hydropower
- Landfill methane and anaerobic digester gas
- Marine or hydrokinetic energy
- Geothermal energy
- Eligible biomass fuel
- Waste energy (burning waste to produce electricity)
3) % of electrical supply from Alternative Energy (such as Combined Heat and Power (CHP))
- Minimum standards (i.e. minimum percentage of electricity procured from the renewable sources) are listed here. There are certain year thresholds depending on when the current electrical contract went into effect.
- If an electrical provider cannot meet those requirements, it is required to pay into alternative compliance fund.
