The spillover effect of mandatory renewable portfolio standards.

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPSs) are one of the most prevalent and impactful clean energy policies implemented by states in the United States. This paper investigates the regional spillover effect of RPS policies using a directed dyad panel dataset of renewable electricity generation in US states from 1991 to 2021. Regional spillover effect is measured in two ways: by considering the influence of an RPS enacted in neighboring states and in states in the same regional transmission organization or independent system operator region. We use dyadic fixed effects estimation and conclude that the neighboring state's RPS stringency score is a strong determinant of a state's total renewable electricity generation. For states without an RPS, the positive influence of an RPS in a neighboring state is larger when the non-RPS state has more abundant renewable energy resources than the neighboring RPS state. Our findings suggest that past RPS policy evaluation research using a confined within-state focus may have underestimated the holistic impact of an RPS, as the impacts of an RPS policy can extend beyond the enacting state's borders. Overall, this study contributes to an improved understanding of the holistic impact of state RPS policies.

Policies for the Sustainable Development of Biofuels in the Pan American Region: A Review and Synthesis of Five Countries.

Rapid growth of biofuel production in the United States and Brazil over the past decade has increased interest in replicating this success in other nations of the Pan American region. However, the continued use of food-based feedstock such as maize is widely seen as unsustainable and is in some cases linked to deforestation and increased greenhouse gas emissions, raising further doubts about long-term sustainability. As a result, many nations are exploring the production and use of cellulosic feedstock, though progress has been extremely slow. In this paper, we will review the North-South axis of biofuel production in the Pan American region and its linkage with the agricultural sectors in five countries. Focus will be given to biofuel policy goals, their results to date, and consideration of sustainability criteria and certification of producers. Policy goals, results, and sustainability will be highlighted for the main biofuel policies that have been enacted at the national level. Geographic focus will be given to the two largest producers-the United States and Brazil; two smaller emerging producers-Argentina and Canada; and one stalled program-Mexico. However, several additional countries in the region are either producing or planning to produce biofuels. We will also review alternative international governance schemes for biofuel sustainability that have been recently developed, and whether the biofuel programs are being managed to achieve improved environmental quality and sustainable development.

Biofuels and sustainability.

Interest in liquid biofuels production and use has increased worldwide as part of government policies to address the growing scarcity and riskiness of petroleum use, and, at least in theory, to help mitigate adverse global climate change. The existing biofuels markets are dominated by U.S. ethanol production based on cornstarch, Brazilian ethanol production based on sugarcane, and European biodiesel production based on rapeseed oil. Other promising efforts have included programs to shift toward the production and use of biofuels based on residues and waste materials from the agricultural and forestry sectors, and perennial grasses, such as switchgrass and miscanthus--so-called cellulosic ethanol. This article reviews these efforts and the recent literature in the context of ecological economics and sustainability science. Several common dimensions for sustainable biofuels are discussed: scale (resource assessment, land availability, and land use practices); efficiency (economic and energy); equity (geographic distribution of resources and the "food versus fuel" debate); socio-economic issues; and environmental effects and emissions. Recent proposals have been made for the development of sustainable biofuels criteria, culminating in standards released in Sweden in 2008 and a draft report from the international Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels. These criteria hold promise for accelerating a shift away from unsustainable biofuels based on grain, such as corn, and toward possible sustainable feedstock and production practices that may be able to meet a variety of social, economic, and environmental sustainability criteria.

State-Level Air Emissions Trading: The Michigan and Illinois Models.

Since passage of the 1990 Amendments to the U.S. Clean Air Act, there has been growing interest in the use of economic incentives for air pollution control. This trend is epitomized by the federal Acid Rain Program and the RECLAIM program for smog control in the Los Angeles basin. The adoption of these programs for attainment of the ozone standard is problematic, because of vexing issues of geography, atmospheric chemistry, source coverage, and monitoring and enforcement. These issues are especially salient in the use of emission reduction credit (ERC) trading systems. Cap and trade programs circumvent some of these difficulties by limiting total emissions and increasing source coverage but may still face monitoring challenges. Finally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently proposing that states use another incentive program, known as Open Market Trading. Michigan and Illinois have both developed new market incentive programs for ozone compliance. Michigan adopted an ERC model for NOx and VOCs, while Illinois opted for a cap and trade program to reduce VOCs in the Chicago area. Though these programs are fairly young, their strengths and weaknesses can be identified. Problems with the Michigan program are so serious that it has been initially disapproved by the EPA out of concern that down-state areas could backslide into non-attainment status. Among the concerns are pre-enactment ERCs and counting ERC generation from facility shutdowns and curtailments. Although the Illinois program is more promising, it has problems of its own, such as low emission source coverage. Nonetheless, it is only through experimentation with market programs that their ultimate utility for ozone compliance can be determined.