by Shane Henson — December 18, 2013—The American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) recently announced the release of the Northeastern Region portion of ACORE’s sixth annual Renewable Energy in the 50 States report.
The third in a four-part series, Renewable Energy in the 50 States: Northeastern Region focuses on the renewable energy sector in Washington, DC, and 11 Northeastern states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland). The report is a review of state energy policies and programs, investment, and market openness as they relate to the current state of renewable energy and its potential for further growth.
“For several years now, the renewable energy sector has been growing at an increasingly impressive rate. This has been especially true in the Northeast. These 11 states—plus the District of Columbia—rank second nationwide in both solar and biomass power capacity and may be on the precipice of a massive offshore wind build-out,” explained Lesley Hunter, ACORE’s research and program manager and lead author of the report. “The availability of wood waste from the local forestry sector allows homes throughout the Northeast to use wood for space heating, water heating, and cooking at nearly twice the national rate, and growth in this sector is expected to steadily continue.”
According to the report, there are renewable energy targets in every Northeastern state, many of which have solar energy carve-outs. New York and Pennsylvania are first and second, respectively, in both renewable power with and without hydropower. Renewable energy is fast becoming more cost competitive in the Northeast. Three large utilities in Massachusetts, for example, recently signed long-term contracts to purchase renewable energy at less than $0.08 per kilowatt hour, below the cost of most conventional sources in the region, ACORE says.
The reports for both the Western Region and Midwestern Region are also complete. The Southeastern Region report will be released early in 2014, ACORE says.
