Renewable Portfolio Standard

fixed feed-in tariff An offer by government or a utility to purchase electricity from renewables producers at a fixed price, regardless of the producers’ costs of production. green (renewables) certificate A certificate, provided by a regulator to renewables producers for specified units of their electricity output; can be traded to other electricity producers who need it to meet their obligation to produce a minimum percentage of renewable electricity under the renewable portfolio standard. quantity-based policy A policy that specifies a quantity outcome (as opposed to a price-based policy such as an environmental tax or subsidy); an example is the renewable portfolio standard policy, which requires production of a specific quantity of electricity. renewable energy Forms of energy (sunlight, wind, geothermal heat, wave power, tidal energy, hydropower, and organic matter) that flow through Earth’s biosphere, available for human use indefinitely, provided that the physical basis for their flow is not destroyed.