Skip to main content
Duke University Libraries
DukeSpace Scholarship by Duke Authors
  • Login
  • Ask
  • Menu
  • Login
  • Ask a Librarian
  • Search & Find
  • Using the Library
  • Research Support
  • Course Support
  • Libraries
  • About
View Item 
  •   DukeSpace
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Nicholas School of the Environment
  • View Item
  •   DukeSpace
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Nicholas School of the Environment
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

A Cost Impact Analysis of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard for Investor-Owned Utilities in North Carolina

Thumbnail
View / Download
2.7 Mb
Date
2011-04-26
Author
Lei, Ting
Advisor
Smith, Martin D.
Repository Usage Stats
358
views
918
downloads
Abstract
A Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a policy tool that sets a requirement for retail sellers of electricity to provide a minimum portion of their electricity sales from renewable resources. The RPS at state levels has become one of the most important policy incentives for stimulating clean energy expansion in electricity utilities in the United States. In 2007, North Carolina promulgated a Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS), requiring the investor-owned utilities (IOUs) to meet up to 12.5% of their energy needs through renewable energy resources by 2021. This Master’s Project is designed to evaluate the cost and rate impacts of REPS on three IOUs in North Carolina from the perspective of retail market. Referring to the core modeling approaches and assumptions in the former technical report for North Carolina, this project establishes a cost impact model to compare the total annual cost of the Utilities’ Portfolio and Alternative REPS Portfolio from 2011 to 2030. The project also analyzes the impacts of different sensitivities. The results suggest that the REPS policy exerts no cost impact on IOUs until 2017 and a 0.54 cents/kWh increase of retail electricity rate will be reached in 2030 under the REPS obligation. According to sensitivity analysis, the extended availability of Production Tax Credit (PTC), high fuel price of coal and natural gas, as well as high construction cost of nuclear plant will reduce the total incremental cost of the REPS policy over 20 years. It is noted that the design of the alternative REPS Portfolio in this project introduces major differences in model results compared to the former technical report. Levelized cost assumptions and forecasts of future fossil fuel prices would bring other uncertainties to this Master’s Project.
Type
Master's project
Department
Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
Subject
Renewable Portfolio Standards, Investor-owned utilities, cost impact, retail electricity rate
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/3604
Citation
Lei, Ting (2011). A Cost Impact Analysis of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard for Investor-Owned Utilities in North Carolina. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/3604.
Collections
  • Nicholas School of the Environment
More Info
Show full item record
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Rights for Collection: Nicholas School of the Environment


Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info

Make Your Work Available Here

How to Deposit

Browse

All of DukeSpaceCommunities & CollectionsAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit DateThis CollectionAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit Date

My Account

LoginRegister

Statistics

View Usage Statistics
Duke University Libraries

Contact Us

411 Chapel Drive
Durham, NC 27708
(919) 660-5870
Perkins Library Service Desk

Digital Repositories at Duke

  • Report a problem with the repositories
  • About digital repositories at Duke
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Deaccession and DMCA Takedown Policy

TwitterFacebookYouTubeFlickrInstagramBlogs

Sign Up for Our Newsletter
  • Re-use & Attribution / Privacy
  • Harmful Language Statement
  • Support the Libraries
Duke University