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Three US states took steps to expand their RPS policies. California
increased its RPS from 33% by 2020 to 50% by 2030. 43 The state
also set requirements for its three biggest utilities i to secure 600
MW of new solar capacity by 2019 under the community-shared
solar programme ii . 44 Hawaii became the first state to target
a fully renewable power supply by increasing its RPS to 100%
by 2045. 45 New York’s RPS expired at end-2015, but the state’s
Public Service Commission was directed to establish a new,
more ambitious mandate of 50% renewable power by 2030. 46
Elsewhere in North America, the Canadian province of New
Brunswick extended its RPS to 40% by 2020, and Nova Scotia
established a mandate of 25% in 2015 and 40% by 2020. 47
Despite the new adoptions, US RPS policy roll-backs continued
in 2015, with Kansas downgrading its existing mandate to a
voluntary goal of 20% by 2020. A number of RPS policies in US
states – including Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma,
South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin – also were expected to
reach their maximum target date at year-end 2015.
The mandated use of renewable energy systems, such as
obligations for their installation in new construction, were
instituted in a few countries in 2015. France enacted a law that
requires all new buildings in commercial zones to be partially
covered by vegetation or solar PV panels. 48 The Czech Republic
and Switzerland introduced building permit exemptions for
rooftop solar PV to simplify deployment. 49
Several countries have utilised public finance mechanisms as an
attempt to drive the investment needed to increase renewable
energy deployment. Many introduced renewable energy tax
incentives in 2015. Notably, the United States approved multiyear
extensions, the longest extensions to-date, of its production
and investment tax credits in late 2015. 50 El Salvador, India,
Jordan, Mongolia and Pakistan all added new policies or
extended existing policies. By contrast, Japan announced plans
to remove tax breaks for commercial solar installations, set to
be implemented in early 2016 as a component of the upcoming
electricity market liberalisation strategy. 51
Additional public sector support, such as grants and loans, has
been directed towards increasing the deployment of renewable
technologies as well as research and development (R&D),
including support for enabling technologies, such as energy
storage. Globally, 20 countries around the world pledged to
double public funding for R&D in clean energy technologies with
the launch of the Mission Innovation initiative in 2015. 52 At the
national level, Australia committed over USD 80 million to support
energy storage projects, ranging from technology development
to large-scale deployment, and the Czech Republic established
a new USD 1.1 billion (CZK 27 billion) 10-year energy efficiency
incentive programme that includes support for residential solar
PV installations. 53 However, some countries reduced funding for
renewables during 2015; Denmark, for example, lowered funding
for the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration
Program – which provides incentives to spur research in new
green energy technologies – from USD 55 million to USD 18
million (DKK 385 million to DKK 127 million). 54
HEATING AND COOLING
In 2015, the adoption of policies promoting the development and
deployment of renewable energy technologies in the heating and
cooling sector continued to lag behind policy adoption in the
power and transport sectors. However, some leading jurisdictions
have begun to recognise the important role that renewables can
play in transforming the heating and cooling energy mix and
have established regulatory and financial mechanisms to support
technologies such as solar water heaters or modern biomass
heat.
More policies have been directed towards renewable heating
technologies than towards renewable cooling technologies.
Policies have focused primarily on smaller-scale solar thermal
heating options, with solar water heaters historically receiving the
bulk of policy support. Policies have continued to focus primarily on
residential and commercial buildings, rather than on the industrial
sector. The recent attention granted to utility-scale and industrial
heat in some countries – such as Austria, Denmark, Germany, India,
Mexico and Tunisia – did not result in the significant expansion of
policy support around the world in 2015. 55 (p See Figure 40.)
As in the electricity sector, policy makers have aimed to promote
renewable heating and cooling through a mix of policies
including targets, rate-setting and incentives policies, regulatory
mandates and public finance mechanisms. Although examples
exist, comparatively little regulatory attention has been focused
on renewable heating and cooling, with policy makers instead
adopting public finance mechanisms to support the sector.
However, building code mandates are used widely at the
local level to promote renewable heat. (p See City and Local
Governments section.)
At least 45 countries worldwide had renewable heating and
cooling targets in place by year-end 2015, with 31 of these in
Europe. During 2015, France established a target for a 38%
renewable heat share by 2030. 56 ( R See Reference Table R23.)
A few other countries outlined goals in their INDCs to expand the
deployment and manufacturing of renewable heat technologies
05
i The obligation applies to Pacific Gas & Electric (which must secure 272 MW of new capacity), Southern California Edison (269 MW) and San Diego Gas &
Electric (59 MW).
ii California's programme defines as "community-shared" a solar electric system that provides power and/or financial benefit to multiple community members.
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