Download the document from the Congressional Budget Office.
This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study — prepared at the request of the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources — examines how a federal renewable or clean electricity standard would change the mix of fuels used for electricity generation, the amount of CO2 emissions, and the retail price of electricity in different parts of the United States. In particular, the study explores how some proposed features of such standards (such as various preferences, exemptions, and alternative compliance rules) would affect those outcomes and identifies underlying causes of uncertainty about such outcomes. The study also highlights key elements in designing a renewable or clean electricity standard that would help minimize its costs to U.S. households and businesses. In keeping with CBO’s mandate to provide objective, impartial analysis, this report makes no recommendations.
