The Role of Energy Efficiency Spending in Maryland’s
Implementation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
“Larger investments of Maryland’s portion of RGGI CO2
allowance revenue
in efficiency improvements in electricity consumption will result in
significant reductions in electricity demand in Maryland.”
Approach
Any public expenditures in Maryland (and the other RGGI states) on
efficiency in end-use electricity consumption will directly affect
electricity markets and consumers. These effects and the strategies
for successful implementation of such programs are the subjects of
this report.
This study builds
upon the three models
used in CIER’s first RGGI study. The
research team compared the impact of investing half versus all
auction revenues in efficiency improvements against a low investment
baseline of one-quarter.
Decisions regarding program design, regardless of the funding level
for such programs, can have implications that affect the ability to
achieve environmental, economic, fiscal and social policy goals.
Insights from other programs and states - their levels of funding,
program structures and administration – can help reveal
opportunities for achieving policy goals. The study considers statewide energy efficiency
programs in New York, Vermont and Maine.
Factors Studied:
·
Electricity demand
·
Electricity prices and consumer expenditures
·
RGGI
CO2 allowance prices and revenue
·
Electricity supply in Maryland and profits for power generators
·
Generator competitiveness and market power
·
Power supply adequacy and transmission import capability
·
Overall economic impacts within Maryland
Research Team
University of Maryland
Matthias Ruth,
Principal Investigator
Kimberly Ross
Nathan Hultman
Joanna Mauer
Iván Darío
Valencia
Nicolai
Herrmann
Resources
for the Future
Karen Palmer
Anthony Paul
Erica Myers
The Johns Hopkins University
Benjamin Hobbs
Towson
University
Daraius Irani
Jeffrey
Michael
University of California Merced
Yihsu Chen
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