All CRS Publications
in Chronological Order
Click on the linked document title
to view the individual publication
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A Comparison of Wind Power Industry Development Strategies
in Spain, India and China (July 19, 2007): Written by Dr. Joanna
Lewis, this paper compares the manner in which Gamesa (Spain), Suzlon (India) and Goldwind (China) became domestic leaders in their respective countries' wind industries. It reviews the respective policy environments for wind energy in India, China, and Spain and how these policies have influenced the rise of a major domestic wind turbine manufacturer in each national context. It then examines and compares the manner in which Suzlon, Goldwind and Gamesa became domestic leaders in their respective countries' wind industries, with a focus on the acquisition of technology, technological know-how, and the associated intellectual property rights that allowed each company to become a leading wind turbine manufacturer in its own domestic market. These comparisons may be of interest to policy makers and technology developers within the Chinese context as Chinese wind turbine manufacturers strive to achieve similar technical capacity as their international counterparts. |
Promoting Renewable Energy Sources in Portugal: Possible Implications for China (June 2007): Written by Katrin-Dorothee Heer and Dr. Ole Langniß, this paper summarizes Portuguese policy measures to promote renewable energy development, with a focus on how Portugal has used both a feed-in tariff and large government tenders for wind power. The paper focuses on specific elements of Portuguese policy support which may be relevant to China, including: the design of Portugal's feed-in tariff policy and how feed-in tariff levels are established; how Portugal has implemented both a tendering program and feed-in tariff policy, and the relationship between these two types of support mechanisms; and the design of Portugal's tendering system, including incentives and requirements for local wind manufacturing, and bid evaluation methods. |
A
Review of the Role of Renewable Energy in Global
Energy Scenarios (June
2007): This report
was sponsored by the IEA Implementing Agreement on
Renewable Energy Technology Deployment. The purpose
of this report, was to: (1) explain why certain global
energy scenarios contain larger shares of renewable
energy than others; (2) identify key assumptions;
and (3) recommend appropriate settings for assumptions
critical to the role of renewable energy that might
be used in future global energy scenarios. The report
analyses eleven global scenario reports incorporating 35 individual
scenarios. It discusses the types of scenarios and
their uses, the types of models used, and how various
technologies are characterized in the different scenario
sets.
Executive
Summary of "A
Review of the Role of Renewable Energy in Global
Energy Scenarios"
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Fostering
Renewable Electricity Markets in North America (June
4, 2007):
This paper provides an overview of the key market demand and supply-side drivers
for renewable electricity in each of the three North American countries. It then
identifies regulatory mandates, voluntary purchases, self-supply and financial
incentives as the most important drivers of a renewable electricity market in
North America today. The paper also explores the opportunities for growing the
renewable electricity market in each of the three countries. It then concludes
with a series of brief recommendations for the market overall and for the Parties
of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) to help
foster a North American renewable electricity future.
Executive
Summary of "Fostering
Renewable Electricity Markets in North America" |
The Potential for Energy Savings Certificates (ESC) as a Major Tool in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs (May 21, 2007): Written
by Dr. Jan Hamrin, Dr. Ed Vine, and Amber Sharick, and
funded by the Kendall Foundation, this paper, an investigation
of ESCs (also called “white
tags”), examines the status
of energy savings certificates in Europe and the United States
and assesses their potential use to help fight global climate
change by stimulating increased energy efficiency. While
energy efficiency measures have been touted as a critical
component for greenhouse gas reduction for years, this report
is the first investigation of the potential for ESCs to help
boost energy efficiency’s contribution to climate change
mitigation.
Executive
Summary of "The
Potential for Energy Savings Certificates (ESC) as
a Major Tool in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs" |
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A
Review of the Potential International Trade Implications
of Key Wind Power Industry Policies in China (October
7, 2006): Written by Dr.
Joanna Lewis, this paper investigates how WTO rules and
regulations might affect China's wind power policies.
The purpose of this paper is not to make a determination
on the legality of any particular policy under international
trade law, but rather to highlight policies that Chinese
international trade experts want might to examine more
closely in order to avoid conflicts with WTO agreements. |
The
German 250-MW-Wind-Program (September
6, 2006): Written by Dr.
Ole Langniss, highlights the experiences and design of
the German "250 MW Wind Programme." This programme
is perhaps the most direct and sizable effort of any
country to support the piloting and demonstration of
new wind turbines and wind turbine designs, with a focus
on those turbines owned by domestic companies. Germany’s
250 MW Programme demonstrates a possible model that China
might utilize as it seeks to support its local wind manufacturers
as they move from R&D to full commercialization. |
Lessons
Learned for Integrating Renewables into Greenhouse Gas
Trading Programs (April
7, 2006): Since mid-2004, CRS has been working
to ensure that renewable energy is integrated into state
and regional greenhouse gas reduction programs. CRS convened
and lead a Renewable Working Group in the Northeast to
develop a proposal to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
(RGGI) for the inclusion of renewables in the development
of a GHG carbon cap and trade program. Previously, renewable
energy has been excluded from cap and trade emission
reduction programs. The proposal incorporated the benefits
of renewable energy in a manner that avoids double counting
of benefits while being fully compatible with renewable
energy incentive programs and emission reduction strategies
in the Northeast . The CRS-lead Working Group submitted
draft language that was incorporated in the final RGGI
Model Rule, helping to ensure a place for voluntary and
mandated renewable purchases in the GHG emissions reduction
regime in the Northeast. CRS is also involved in the
Western State's Global Warming Initiatives in a similar
capacity. |
Regulator's
Handbook on Renewable Energy Programs & Tariffs (April
2006) This
reference guide for regulators involved in the design of
renewable energy programs was written with
a specific focus on tariff setting, it suggests best practices
for designing renewable energy programs and highlights
success stories in a series of case studies. This Handbook
is divided into sections that can be read sequentially
or referred to individually when particular issues arise.
Key issues discussed in this Handbook include: Green Pricing;
Check-off Programs; Community Aggregation; Renewable Portfolio
Standards; Public Benefits Funds; and Net Metering. |
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Achieving
a 33% Renewable Energy Target (November
1, 2005): This report
was requested by the California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC) and funded by the Energy Foundation. It was developed
to assist the CPUC in its responsibilities as part of
the California Climate Action Team (CAT), and as an input
to the CAT January 2006 report to the Governor on implementation
of the state greenhouse gas reduction target. The purpose
of the report is to assess how to accelerate and expand
the current CPUC Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and
related programs to achieve the Governor's goal of meeting
33 percent of statewide electric power supply with renewable
energy by 2020. This report identifies what the CPUC
can do within the scope of its current jurisdiction and
what changes in law are needed to expand renewables to
meet the Governor's goal. This report also focuses specifically
on necessary implementation steps, barriers that must
be overcome and a step-by-step schedule for implementation
and adoption of policy changes needed to accelerate California's
RPS program to the 33 percent level. Wherever possible
this project relies on existing research, analysis and
modeling results. The period of interest for this investigation
is 2010 to 2020. |
2004
CRS Annual Report:
Please allow about four minutes
for this large file to load. We think this report is worth the
wait!. |
International
Tax Incentives for Renewable Energy: Lessons for Public Policy
(June 17, 2005):
Throughout the world, tax incentives
have supported public policies designed to stimulate the development
of renewable energy markets and industries. Tax incentives are
powerful and highly flexible policy tools that can be targeted
to encourage specific renewable energy technologies and to impact
selected renewable energy market participants, especially when
used in combination with other policy tools. This paper identifies
the types of tax incentives currently in use worldwide ir order
to learn from the experiences of the 29 countries and 35 states
specifically examined here. |
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Renewable
Energy Policies and Markets in the U.S. (March-2005):
This chapter, from a forthcoming
publication in Chinese, provides an overview of the history
of renewable energy policies and markets in the United States
and how they evolved over time. |
Unofficial
English translation of the Chinese Renewable Energy Law
(March-2005):
Eighteen months after announcing interest in developing renewable
energy legislation, the Standing Committee of the National People's
Congress (NPC) of China passed a comprehensive renewable energy
law. The Renewable Energy Law was endorsed Feb 28, 2005, significantly
earlier than expected, advancing a number of advantageous policies
for renewable energy development. |
Guide
to Purchasing Green Power: Renewable Electricity, Renewable
Energy Certificates and On-Site Renewable Generation
(October 2004): This
guide is intended for organizations that are considering the
merits of buying green power as well as those that have decided
to buy it and want help doing so. The Guide was written for
a broad audience, including businesses, government agencies,
universities, and all organizations wanting to diversify their
energy supply and to reduce the environmental impact of their
electricity use. The Guide provides an overview of green power
markets and describes the necessary steps to buying green power.
This guide was a collaboration between DoE, EPA, WRI and CRS. |
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Best
Practices in Marketing Green Pricing Programs (November
2003) This Resource Guide
contains the recommended Best Practices as expressed
by dozens of green pricing program managers and the author.
The Resource Guide conveys experiences to date from green
power marketers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
working to promote green power purchasing. The Guide
is intended to serve municipal utilities in improving
marketing decision-making, to educate staff as well as
consumers on effective methods of communicating renewable
energy messages visually and verbally, and to leverage
municipal efforts to increase participation in green
power programs. It will maximize the success of public
utility green pricing marketing efforts by determining
what has and has not worked to date in green pricing
marketing and why. |
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Regulator's
Handbook on Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRCs) (June
2003): This Handbook is the
first comprehensive resource for energy regulators whose
decision-making intersects with renewable energy markets.
It also features useful information for market participants,
environmental regulators and certificate buyers. The Handbook
covers the building blocks for the development of a credible
renewable certificate market. It provides: "Best
Practices" from domestic and international experience with
TRCs to date, covering issues such as property rights, net-metering, interaction with RPS and
green pricing, rate-setting, banking and retiring, and other related
topics. It contains guidelines for the development of certificate accounting
systems and guidance to help regulators with salient issues that are sensitive
to local conditions. |
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Green
Pricing at Public Utilities: A How-to Guide Based on Lessons
Learned to Date (Oct-2002):
This report offers public utilities
background on lessons learned from public utilities that have
implemented green pricing programs and offers recommendations
to consider when implementing a green pricing program. The report
is based on a survey of green pricing program managers at public
utilities combined with advice from leading renewable energy
experts on green pricing best practices. The report first provides
profiles of green pricing activity at public utilities in the
U.S. and offers a list of the benefits of green pricing programs.
It then lists best practices on program implementation as indicated
by green pricing program managers and industry experts. Best
marketing practices are then presented. The report then outlines
how to avoid potential pitfalls. The report concludes with several
appendices including four case studies and a list of green pricing
resources. |
Renewable
Energy Policy Options for China: A Comparison of Renewable Portfolio
Standards, Feed-in Tariffs, and Tendering Policies
(June 2002): This paper provides
a comparative analysis of feed-in laws, renewable portfolio
standards, and tendering policies as three policy tools that
can help the development of new renewable capacity. It compares
the relative merits and disadvantages of each approach both
in general and for application in China. It also identifies
several policy objectives that can be achieved through these
three approaches and identifies which approach has been most
successful in meeting each of the various policy goals. |
Project
Development and Public Policies: Feed-in Tariffs, Green Pricing,
PBF, RPS (June
2002): In this report, we identify
the most common elements of renewable energy project development,
how they have been applied with various types of policy approaches
and the critical factors affecting their use. (This paper only
deals with larger (1 MW), grid-connected facilities.)renewable
energy policy approaches and the typical project development
practices used with each are discussed. The paper discusses
such issues as financing, ownership of facilities, power sales,
power purchase agreements and mandatory market strategies. |
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Recommendations
for Establishing a ETNNA
(5/13/2002): This paper summarizes
CRS' recommendations for the establishment of a North American
Certificate tracking and verification network. The recommendations
are excerpted from the larger paper, Developing a Framework
for Tradable Renewable Certificates, listed above. |
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Certification
of Off-Grid Renewable Energy Systems
(9/29/2001): This is a discussion
of certification programs for off-grid renewable energy systems.
It contains a summary of the two most prominent international
bodies for small-scale solar certification and the issues associated
with using these standards in combination with nationally developed
standards. The memo gives two cases studies on PV certification
work that is being done in China and Nepal. |
Non-Grid
Renewable Energy Policies: International Case Studies
(8/16/2001): This
paper provides a thorough review of critical federal and local
governmental policies that can be helpful in promoting rural,
off-grid renewable energy development. It provides three case
studies from Nepal, Kenya and Chile that illustrate the implementation
of a range of policy models. The paper analyzes the relative
effectiveness of each policy model as it applies to China. |
Financing
Off-Grid PV
(6/12/2001):This memo outlines
different schemes that have been used to finance solar PV projects
including cash financing, credit financing, and leasing. The
memo provides case studies from different countries and an analysis
of lessons learned. |
Capacity
And Energy Based RPS Policies
(5/19/2001): A discussion of
the comparative advantages and disadvantages of a capacity-based
renewable energy purchase obligation and an energy-based renewable
energy purchase obligation. The memo uses Texas to illustrate
the capacity-based approach. |
Interaction
Between RPS and SBC Policies
(5/19/2001): This memo explores
the different methods for integrating SBC and RPS policies,
using examples from the US. The memo compares the effectiveness
of these combinations in reaching various goals and makes recommendations
for their use in China. |
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United
States RPS Case Studies
(May 2000): This document summarizes
three states' RPS policies: Maine, Wisconsin, and Texas. Each
state case study contains information on the historical background,
legislative process, regulatory implementation, and the effectiveness
of the policy and provides a copy of the actual regulation.
In addition, this document contains a summary of RPS design
lessons and comparative analysis of different approaches. |
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