REGIONAL OVERVIEW Status of Renewable Energy Development ...

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R E G I O N A L O V E R V I E W

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MONTANA

WYOMING

COLORADO

NEW MEXICO

UTAH

IDAHO

NEVADA

CALIFORNIA

ARIZONA

OREGON

WASHINGTON

Status of Renewable Energy Development in the West

Electricity GenerationOver half of the West’s electricity is produced by

burning fossil fuels. The main sources of electricity

in the West are coal, hydropower, natural gas and

nuclear. In 1999, renewable resources accounted

for 4% of the region’s generation base.

.5% Petroleum

4% Renewables

10% Nuclear19% Gas

33% Hydro

33% Coal

Each pie chart is scaled to the totalamount of energy produced.

Data source: Energy InformationAdministration 1999

Energy Production by State, 1999

0 100 200

miles

This chart shows the breakdown of fuel sources used to supply

the entire region’s electricity. When compared to the map below,

the importance of different resources to different states becomes

apparent. Due to the interconnectedness of electricity trans-

mission in the West, energy produced in one state is often

consumed in another.

Regional Mix

Coal

Gas

Hydro

Nuclear

Renewables

Petroleum

Total Megawatt Hours Generated

Arizona 84,000,000

California 191,500,000

Colorado 39,500,000

Idaho 14,400,000

Montana 31,400,000

Nevada 32,800,000

New Mexico 32,600,000

Oregon 56,700,000

Utah 36,800,000

Washington 117,100,000

Wyoming 43,600,000

TOTAL 680,400,000

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Renewable Energy Facilities – Installed Capacity

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Installed Capacity ofRenewable Energy

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w Wind

g Geothermal

Capacity (MW)

.01–10

11–100

101–500

501–2500

The West is home to 45% of the nation’s installed

renewable energy capacity. California leads the

country in renewables development, single-hand-

edly comprising nearly 80% of the West’s installed

capacity. While the map below demonstrates

California’s dominance, it also shows the emerg-

ence of significant renewables installations in each

of the other states.

Installed Capacity State of Renewables (in MW)

Arizona 9

California 5,481

Colorado 68

Idaho 120

Montana 16

Nevada 238

Installed Capacity State of Renewables (in MW)

New Mexico 4

Oregon 303

Utah 44

Washington 512

Wyoming 141

Total 6,936

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Data source: REPiS: The Renewable Electric PlantInformation System 2001, American Wind EnergyAssociation 2002

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R e n e w a b l e E n e r g y F a c i l i t i e s – L o c a t i o nRenewable energy facilities, ranging from small

household rooftop photovoltaic systems to large-

scale geothermal power plants, have been installed

across the region. The clean energy facilities

shown below represent projects listed in the DOE

REPiS database.

While the wind, geothermal and biomass

facilities are generally utility-scale projects, the

solar facilities shown here are mainly residential-

scale, less than 10kW.

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San Diego

Tucson

Yuma

Phoenix

AlbuquerqueSan Bernardino

Los Angeles

Santa Fe

Flagstaff

GallupBakersfield

Las Vegas

Pueblo

Fresno

Colorado Springs

Grand Junction

Denver

San Francisco

Fort Collins

Provo

Carson City

Cheyenne

Reno

Salt Lake City

Laramie

Chico

Redding

Twin Falls

PocatelloMedford

Boise

GilletteBend

Billings

Eugene

Butte

Helena

Salem

Missoula

Portland

Lewiston

Great Falls

Yakima

SpokaneOlympia

Tacoma

Seattle

Moab

Las Cruces

Casper

Sheridan

Durango

Alamogordo

St. George

Jackson

Richland

RockSprings

Klamath Falls

Elko

s Solar

B Biomass

w Wind

g Geothermal

Locations of facilities are approximate.Renewable energy facilities werelocated using zip codes, city locations,or counties. In the cases of zip codesand counties, the centroid of the areawas chosen as the locator for thefacilities. More than one facility may belocated at the location symbolized withthe icon.

Data source: REPiS: The RenewableElectric Plant Information System 1999,Southern Methodist UniversityGeothermal Lab 1999, American WindEnergy Association 2002

Renewable Energy Facilities

0 100 200

miles


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Policies Encouraging Renewable EnergyAcross the West, a number of states have adopted

policies supporting the development of renewable

energy technologies. By fostering demand and

providing financial incentives, these policies play

a significant role in developing a market for these

emerging technologies. In addition, many electric-

ity providers and local governments have develop-

ed programs to encourage renewables, such as

green power purchase options and net metering.

Further, new renewables are being funded

by “green tags,” certificates representing the

environmental benefits of clean power and sold

nationally. It is important to note that renewable

energy policies and programs vary widely in scope

and funding levels from state to state, resulting

in different levels of actual development of

renewables. In-depth descriptions of policies are

provided in the Glossary and state sections.

SBC RPS NM GP

$T $S $

NM GP

NM GP

$S $

NM GP

$T

SBC NM GP

$T $P $

SBC RPS NM GP

$

RPS NM GP

$P $

SBC NM GP

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NM GP

$T $

NM GP

$T

SBC NM GP

$T $P $

MONTANA

WYOMING

COLORADO

NEW MEXICO

UTAH

IDAHO

NEVADA

CALIFORNIA

ARIZONA

OREGON

WASHINGTON

2 2

3

3

4Data source: Database of State Incentivesfor Renewable Energy (www.dsireusa.org),June 2002

States with Renewable Energy Policies

SBCRPSNMGP

$T$S$P$

0 100 200

miles

System Benefits Charge

Renewable Portfolio Standard

Net Metering1

Green Power Programs

Tax Incentives (Personal/Corp)

Sales Tax Exemption

Property Tax Reduction

Other (Rebate, Loan, Grant)

1Net metering capacity varies from stateto state, from 10 kW in NM to 1000 kWin CA.

2NM’s SBC and RPS tied to restructuring,to begin in 2007

3MT and WA have mandated greenpower requirements

4NM has the region’s only state-levelproduction tax credit

See the state sections and Glossary formore in-depth descriptions of renewableenergy policies and programs.

REGIONAL OVERVIEW Status of Renewable Energy Development ...

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