USA

Energy strategies in USA

Energy consumption by sector in the USA:
- Residential = 20,2 %
· Commercial = 15,6 %
· Industrial = 37,9 %
· Transportation = 26,3 %

To help speed development and use of environmentally friendly RE technologies, both States and Federal Government have established numerous regulatory and financial incentives.

WE installed power in 2006 = 2.454 MWp.

Total WE installed power by the end of 2006 = 11.603 MWp.

The USA is the second largest PV cell producer in the world. The PV and thermal sectors are growing exponentially at a rate of 80 to 90% a year.

Recently Texas has emerged as one of the leading RE markets in the United States.Specific success factors that have driven the success of the Texas policy:

• Strong political support and regulatory commitment to the RPS (Renewables Portfolio Standard)
• predictable long-term purchase obligation that drive new development and economies of scale
• Credible and automatic enforcement of non-compliance
  
• certificate trading for tracking and verifying compliance with the RPS
• favorable transmission rules
• availability of the federal production tax credit for wind power.

Emerging experience from Texas shows that a well-crafted and implemented RPS can deliver on its promise of strong cost-effective support for renewable energy.

In Massachusetts the PV cumulative installed capacity was 4 MWp at the end of 2007 and 4 MW for wind energy.

Aim for Renewables in the USA by 2010:

• market-based, least-cost method of increasing renewables used to produce electricity: aim set to 7,5 %
• 10 % advocated by the Sustainable Energy Coalition (a group of over 30 business, environmental, consumer and energy policy organisations).

United States Energy Policy : The White House

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy:

US DOE (Department of Energy)