Renewable energy incentive

A projection of biomass energy consumption in the United States for the years 2000, 2010, 2020, and 2030 is shown in Table 6 by end use sector (12). This analysis is based on a National Premiums Scenario which assumes that specific market incentives are appHed to aU. new renewable energy technology deployment. The scenario depends on the enactment of federal legislation equivalent to a fossil fuel consumption tax. Any incentives over and above those in place (ca 1992) for use of renewable energy will have a significant impact on biomass energy consumption. 

The political boundary conditions are connected with financial support, taxes and regulations and laws. For instance the Kyoto Protocol might be an incentive to an increased number of snow cooling plants, since they to a large extent uses renewable energy (Paksoy, 2003). 

The oil lobby wants the government to continue providing oil- and gasdrilling tax incentives and subsidizing domestic exploration, and wants to drill in federal waters without paying royalties. The opponents of the oil lobby would prefer to transfer government support and tax breaks from the oil industry to the renewable energy industries. Similar to oil, the coal, natural gas, and the uranium reserves are also limited (Table 1.7). 

As is the case with wind energy, solar power has most traction in countries such as Germany, Spain, Cyprus and Japan, all of which offer incentives to improve the uptake of renewable energy sources as part of their implementation of a diversified energy policy. In Cyprus, more than 50 percent of hotels and 90 percent of homes have solar water heating.21 As Figure 10 illustrates, such policies enabled Japan to develop a healthy lead in this industry, producing nearly half of the PV cells manufactured. 

Of the present fiscal measures the energy tax, the exemption for renewable energy and the production support rate for renewables offer the strongest and most important incentives for narrowing the price gap with conventional energy. Especially the increases the Dutch government will introduce in 2000 and 2001 on the energy tax on electricity and gas may push the consumer to choose for... 

Faundez P (2008) Renewable energy in a market-based economy how to estimate its potential and choose the right incentives. Renew Energy 33 1768-1774... 

Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE)... 

DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency across the United States. http //www.dsireusa.org... 

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