Concepts
Renewable Portfolio Standard
Also Known As RPS
Policy Concept
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A state requirement or goal that electricity providers supply a set share of their power from low-carbon or zero-carbon sources, the policy instrument that drove much of the early American renewables build-out. As of December 2025, 28 states and the District of Columbia carry a binding standard and seven more hold goals, with compliance shown through renewable energy certificates.
Facts
Concept Domain Formulated YearIowa's Alternative Energy Production law, enacted 1983, is credited by the Congressional Research Service and the US Energy Information Administration as the first US state renewable portfolio standard. Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Both are US state-level renewable-support policy mechanisms that frequently coexist in the same jurisdiction.
Sources
1. United States Energy Information Administration Official Site
US Energy Information AdministrationRenewable energy explained, Portfolio standardsQuote, Renewable energy explained, Portfolio standards
Renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and clean energy standards (CES) are requirements or goals for energy producers or providers to supply energy from low- or zero-carbon emission sources.
1. United States Energy Information Administration Official Site
US Energy Information AdministrationRenewable energy explained, Renewable portfolio and clean energy standardsQuote, Renewable energy explained, Renewable portfolio and clean energy standards
the first RPS was established in Iowa in 1983
Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Feed-in Tariff, DescriptionQuote, Associated With: Feed-in Tariff, Description
A feed-in tariff is a policy mechanism designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies by offering long-term contracts to renewable energy producers.
Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Power Purchase Agreement, IntroductionQuote, Associated With: Power Purchase Agreement, Introduction
A power purchase agreement (PPA), or electricity power agreement, is a long-term contract between an electricity generator and a customer, usually a utility, government or company.
Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Carbon Intensity, IntroductionQuote, Associated With: Carbon Intensity, Introduction
An emission intensity (also carbon intensity or C.I.) is the emission rate of a given pollutant relative to the intensity of a specific activity
Frequently Asked Questions
Which US state adopted the first renewable portfolio standard?
Iowa, in 1983.
Iowa, in 1983, when its Alternative Energy Production law required the state's two largest utilities to procure a minimum amount of renewable generation. It was a modest start by later standards, but it is the policy the US Energy Information Administration and the Congressional Research Service both credit as the first state renewable portfolio standard, more than a decade before the wave of state standards that followed in the 1990s and 2000s.
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