US East Coast’s renewable energy goal may require incentives for power companies

Ars Technica : The eastern US could support a 30% increase in renewable power generation, according to a recent study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The finding follows the December 2015 announcement by New York governor Andrew Cuomo setting a long-term goal of providing 50% of the state’s power from renewable sources by 2030. As almost 20% already comes from hydropower, the idea is to use wind and solar to make up the remaining 30%. To analyze the impact such a changeover would have on the power-generation industry, the NREL used computer modeling to run multiple supply-and-demand scenarios. The study found that the electricity-generation system on the East Coast should be able to balance the flow of power between variable sources, such as solar and wind, and more constant sources, such as natural gas and fossil fuels. However, the plan depends on power producers’ willingness to provide such ramping and capacity services. New financial and regulatory incentives may be required.