The Cost & Impact of a 100 Percent Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard for the State of Colorado0

• December 13, 2017

As the 2018 Colorado governor’s race intensifies, two Democrat candidates have proposed extending Colorado’s existing Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) from 30 percent by 2020 to 100 percent by 2040. The purpose of this study is to highlight some of the main costs and impacts associated with a hypothetical 100 percent RPS in Colorado. Because few details have been released regarding the design of such a policy, this study evaluated the costs associated with two very different 100 percent RPS scenarios.