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The enclosed brief compiles information from federal energy laboratories and corporations that summarize the benefits of a renewable electricity standard for Indiana.
ICREED commissioned Dr. Peter Boerger, former Director of the Electric Division of the Indiana Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor, to do a rate impact study of a 10% renewable electricity standard for Indiana. The basic findings of the report can be found here. If you would like a full copy of the October 2006 report (which replaces the September 2006 report), please email us.
Corporations, rural businesspeople, academics and clean energy experts all testified in favor of an Indiana renewable electricity standard at a September 2006 hearing before the bi-cameral Regulatory Flexibility Committee.
Minutes for this testimony, which were authored by the staff of the Regulatory Flexibility Committee, can be found here on pages 13-16. If you would like a full transcript of ICREED testimony, please send us an email.
ICREED testified before the Regulatory Flexibility Committee again in August 2007. Our central presentation can be found here.
Frequently Asked Questions
About Renewable Energy Development
Q: What happens when the wind doesn’t blow?
A: Other power generation will fill the gap. Under the proposed standard for Indiana, renewable energy will only be a very small percentage of the state’s power supply: 2% by 2008. Coal and natural gas plants will continue to provide the majority of the state’s total power supply.
Sophisticated weather forecasts now enable the electric grid operators to accurately plan and schedule wind energy deliveries to match demand. If the wind unexpectedly stops blowing, the grid operator can easily call on other power generation to fill the gap, just as the operator would respond to shutdowns at coal and nuclear plants by adding generation from other sources.
Q: Will large new wind power plants require expensive statewide transmission upgrades?
A: No. An extensive electric transmission system already crisscrosses Indiana with high voltage lines. There is not a compelling need for new high-voltage transmission lines for renewable energy resources that would only be 10% of the power supply in Indiana by 2016.
Q: Does the variable nature of wind power add significant costs to the electric grid?
A: No. Integrating wind power onto the electric grid has proven to be relatively trouble-free and low-cost. For example, for years Pacific Gas & Electric Company has operated an integrated electric system in California with wind representing up to 10% of total generation without any increase in grid system costs. Grid operators must contend with the unique characteristics of all types of generation. Indeed, electricity from wind power already powers over 2.1 million homes in 35 states across the country.
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