Report: States stand to gain if corporations have better access to renewables

Four Midwest states rank among the top in the nation for making it easier for corporations to gain better access to wind and solar. According to a report by Advanced Energy Economy.  The report lists the top 11 states that are “above average” when it comes to clean energy resources available as well as having large industrial energy loads, which includes Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio. The report makes six policy recommendations that would make it easier for large energy users in those states to access renewable energy. For the 11 states listed, the AEE report makes six specific policy recommendations that would enable companies to buy electricity from large, offsite clean energy projects as well as distributed energy projects. The recommendations involve renewable energy tariffs from utilities; “back-to-back” power purchase agreements; direct access tariffs; raising size limits on distributed generation projects; allowing for third-party ownership; and allowing for virtual or aggregated metering.