REP Policy 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which U.S. federal law established the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program requiring transportation fuel to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels?
- Clean Air Act of 1970
- Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Correct answer)
- National Energy Conservation Policy Act
- Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act
Correct answer: Energy Policy Act of 2005
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 created the original RFS, which was later expanded by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
Question 2: What does the acronym 'SREC' stand for in renewable energy policy contexts?
- Solar Renewable Energy Credit (Correct answer)
- State Renewable Energy Certificate
- Sustainable Resource Energy Compliance
- Solar Rate Equity Contribution
Correct answer: Solar Renewable Energy Credit
SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Credits) are tradable certificates representing the environmental attributes of one megawatt-hour of solar electricity generation.
Question 3: Under the Clean Power Plan's successor framework, which agency holds primary authority to regulate carbon emissions from existing power plants in the U.S.?
- Department of Energy
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Environmental Protection Agency (Correct answer)
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Correct answer: Environmental Protection Agency
The EPA holds authority under the Clean Air Act Section 111(d) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants.
Question 4: Which policy mechanism allows commercial and industrial customers to contract directly with renewable energy generators for long-term electricity supply?
- Net metering agreement
- Feed-in tariff
- Power purchase agreement (PPA) (Correct answer)
- Renewable portfolio standard
Correct answer: Power purchase agreement (PPA)
A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is a contract between an energy buyer and a renewable generator that sets electricity price, term, and delivery terms.
Question 5: The 'Value of Solar' tariff methodology, used by some utilities, differs from standard net metering because it:
- Pays solar producers the wholesale market rate only
- Calculates compensation based on the total benefit solar provides to the grid (Correct answer)
- Requires solar owners to pay a fixed monthly grid access fee
- Limits solar exports to 50% of a customer's consumption
Correct answer: Calculates compensation based on the total benefit solar provides to the grid
Value of Solar tariffs compensate distributed solar based on factors like avoided energy costs, capacity value, transmission savings, and environmental benefits rather than a simple retail rate offset.
Question 6: Which section of the U.S. tax code governs the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for renewable electricity generation?
- Section 45 (Correct answer)
- Section 48
- Section 30D
- Section 179D
Correct answer: Section 45
Section 45 of the Internal Revenue Code provides the Production Tax Credit, a per-kilowatt-hour tax credit for electricity generated from qualified renewable sources.
Question 7: What is the primary purpose of 'interconnection standards' in renewable energy policy?
- Setting minimum efficiency requirements for renewable generators
- Establishing uniform safety and technical requirements for connecting distributed generation to the grid (Correct answer)
- Defining the maximum export capacity for community solar projects
- Mandating insurance requirements for renewable energy developers
Correct answer: Establishing uniform safety and technical requirements for connecting distributed generation to the grid
Interconnection standards define the technical and procedural requirements generators must meet to safely and reliably connect to the electric distribution or transmission grid.
