Renewable Energy

With environmental regulations partially responsible for a decline in the demand for coal in the United States, a renewed emphasis on alternative energy has emerged. Solar, wind and biomass projects are gaining traction and all continental states are expected to require an increasing percentage of their respective total annual electric generation to come from renewable energy as part of the state specific Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS).
The expected environmental bill which will enact new source performance standards, effectively making it very difficult for coal plants to comply and then potentially retroactively impacting existing coal-fired plants will further fuel investment in non-polluting renewable energy.
At Greenmont Energy, we closely monitor new investments in renewable energy projects and stay abreast of the latest cost assumptions associated with building and operating these projects. Some of the areas of interest are the impact of an increased reliance on renewables on electricity prices and the limited ability of renewables to replace base load electricity sources.