by Dan Burgess, Boston GreenScene's Policy Corner Commentator
As the environmental policy debate continues to ramp up both abroad and here at home, a useful new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) was released and provides us with a snapshot of how the United States, and the state of Massachusetts, are performing. The NREL report, titled ‘State of the States 2009: Renewable Energy Development and the Role of Policy,’ is a comprehensive snapshot of the United States renewable energy production by state. Derived from renewable energy information collected between 2001 and 2007, the report clearly demonstrates how effective, or futile, the United States clean energy strategy has been and the role Massachusetts is playing in comparison to other states. While the data does not show results from the most recent legislative efforts made by Governor Patrick, the figures do serve as a good yardstick to gauge overall efforts. The following comes from the 212 page report:United States
- Renewable electricity resources supplied 8.5% of the total electricity generation in the United States in 2007 which is down from 9.5% in 2006. This drop is due to a decrease in hydroelectric energy production and is a result of climate instability: less rain, less river currents for electricity generation.
- Of the total 8.5% produced by renewables, hydroelectric generation represents the largest portion at 70%. The next largest are biomass at over 15% and wind at over 9%.
- Wind resources experienced the largest growth of the renewable energy technologies in recent years, increasing 30% from 2006 to 2007.
- Astute state legislation works, and works relatively quickly. States with renewable portfolio standards and/or net-metering systems in place produced greater amounts of clean energy than those without.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ranked as the 31st state in total renewable electricity generation.- As a percentage of total state electricity generation, Massachusetts produced 4.3% from renewable energy. This ranked 27th.
- Between 2001 and 2007, the Commonwealth’s clean energy production grew 1.1% for a rank of 33rd. However, as a percentage of total state electricity growth, renewable generation was -17.4% for a rank of 40th.
- The Commonwealth ranks 33rd of 36 states in total capacity for wind generation with the ability to produce 5.4 megawatts (note: 2008 numbers are most recent data, does not represent current 2009 capacity).
There is certainly a narrative that can be told regarding and explaining these statistics, particularly relating state data to implemented renewable portfolio standards (RPS). Overall, however, this data makes clear that the United States and Massachusetts have sufficient space to raise the renewable energy bar. I’ll be covering more policy initiatives that should be considered over the next few months, but its important we keep these statistics in mind when discussing the potential for growth in our public discourse.
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