Distributed Generation/Solar Carve-out
Distributed energy resources provide decentralized energy generation and storage from small sources connected to the part of the grid that distributes power for local use. While renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) specify a percentage of utility sales or a specific megawatt hour (MWh) capacity to be provided by renewable energy resources by a specific date, sometimes these standards do not advance distributed or customer-sited renewable resources such as distributed solar. As a result, many states promote distributed resources through carve-outs and/or multipliers.
Carve-outs require that a certain percentage of the generation used to meet the RPS come from distributed generation. Multipliers promote investment in distributed generation by increasing the resource’s value for meeting an RPS. For example, under Oregon’s RPS, each kilowatt hour (kWh) generated by a small solar installation (500 kilowatts to 5 megawatts) counts as two kWh towards RPS compliance. While multipliers can increase the value of distributed generation to utilities and can incentivize investment, their use can lead to a lower overall amount of renewable generation installed to meet an RPS.
While most carve-outs target solar and distributed generation specifically, other technologies can be included based on resource availability and state policy objectives. Effective RPS carve-outs or multipliers establish specific requirements on the technology, size, siting, and ownership of eligible resources in order to ensure the desired outcomes are achieved by the target year.
Policy Components
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1
Does the state's RPS include a carve-out?
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2
Does the state's carve-out include interim targets?
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3
Does the carve-out support the development of multiple renewable energy resources?
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4
Does the carve-out apply to all electric providers?
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5
Does the state's carve-out target more than one customer class or include system size tiers?
Key Resources
The State(s) of Distributed Solar - 2023 Update
SPOT for Clean Energy Policy Profile: Distributed Resources/Solar Carve-out
Policy Explainer: Creating Renewable Energy Markets through Solar Carve-Outs
Solar carve-outs: What you need to know
Model States
Arizona
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.
Massachusetts
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.
New Jersey
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.
Vermont
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.
Distributed Generation/Solar Carve-out By State
| Status | State Sort descending | Region | Components | YR Enacted | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southeast | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
West | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southwest | Policy Components
5/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southeast | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
West | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Partially Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
West | Policy Components
1/5
|
||
| Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Northeast | Policy Components
5/5
|
||
| Partially Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southeast | Policy Components
4/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southeast | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southeast | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
West | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
West | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Midwest | Policy Components
5/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Midwest | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Midwest | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Midwest | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southeast | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southeast | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Northeast | Policy Components
5/5
|
||
| Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southeast | Policy Components
5/5
|
||
| Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Northeast | Policy Components
5/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Midwest | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Partially Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Midwest | Policy Components
3/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southeast | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Partially Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Midwest | Policy Components
1/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
West | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Midwest | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Partially Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
West | Policy Components
2/5
|
||
| Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Northeast | Policy Components
5/5
|
||
| Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Northeast | Policy Components
5/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southwest | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Northeast | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Partially Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southeast | Policy Components
1/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Midwest | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Midwest | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southwest | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Partially Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
West | Policy Components
3/5
|
||
| Partially Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Northeast | Policy Components
1/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Northeast | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southeast | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Midwest | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southeast | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Partially Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southwest | Policy Components
1/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
West | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Northeast | Policy Components
5/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southeast | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
West | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Southeast | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
Midwest | Policy Components
0/5
|
||
| Not Enacted |
Empty column
The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies
Empty column
|
West | Policy Components
0/5
|