Renewable Portfolio Standard
From Open Risk Manual
Definition
A Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a regulation pertaining to electricity suppliers that requires the production of specific amounts of energy (Supplier Quota) from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal.
Regulation will generally define the eligibility criteria that energy facilities must fulfill in order to be used to demonstrate compliance with the RPS.
Other names used are Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) and Renewables Obligation.
Mechanism
- Certified renewable energy generators earn certificates for every unit of electricity (MWh) they produce and can sell these along with their electricity to supply companies.
- Supply companies pass the certificates to some form of regulatory body to demonstrate their compliance with their regulatory obligations.
An RPS can rely on the private market for its implementation.
References
- Renewable portfolio standard
- GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance (2015)
