On December 16, 2004, Governor Edward Rendell signed into law Pennsylvania’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard. The standard requires that qualified power sources provide 18% of Pennsylvania’s electricity by 2020. There are two tiers of qualified sources that electric generation and distribution companies may use to meet the standard. Each tier has its own percentage requirement. Tier 1 sources, which must make up 8% of the portfolio, include wind, solar, coalmine methane, small hydropower, geothermal, and biomass. The Tier 1 standard also specifies that solar sources provide 0.5% of generation by 2020, the most solar power mandated by any state. Tier 2 sources make up the remaining 10% of the portfolio, and include waste coal, demand side management, large hydropower, municipal solid waste, and coal integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC). The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission is charged with developing a system of tradeable clean energy credits to facilitate utility compliance with the standard. Pennsylvania is the 18th U.S. state with a mandate to produce some portion of its electricity from renewable sources.
See a Map of States with Renewable Portfolio Standards
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