State Energy-Based Economic Development Policies and Examples

Abstract

States have adopted various policies and initiatives to develop and/or expand their energy industries, many of which have been driven by economic development purposes rather than specific energy or environmental concerns. Of the many reasons states have considered explicit energy policies, the direct economic benefits of stimulating the economy—creating jobs and increasing revenues—have often been at the forefront of policy decision making. This research note reviews existing policies targeted at developing the energy industry and presents two typologies of state-level energy policies. The first typology offers an organizing framework for categorizing such policies by energy source (existing vs. new) and energy approach (production vs. consumption). The second typology categorizes policies by regulatory approach (regulation vs. incentives) and target audience (producers vs. consumers). Different policy options are described and are used to illustrate the different types of policies according to the two typologies.