Abstract for:100% Renewable-Electricity Demand: A Dream or Dreaming a Dream

State-mandated renewable portfolio standards (RPS) contribute to a substantial fraction of total electricity supply in the U.S. RPS is an environmentally-motivated policy, yet it has the potential to greatly impact economy. There is not a concise agreement in the literature surrounding the impact of RPS policies on regional economies, especially on job creation. Integrating various methodologies such as econometrics, geographic information system, and input-output into a unique system dynamics model, this paper estimates the impact of RPS on an economy and the environment under various scenarios. We carry out our analysis in New Mexico, a southwestern state with abundant potential for fossil fuel and renewable energy sources. Our findings suggest supporting thousands of temporary and permanent jobs across different sectors and counties. Although the employment values appear to have minimal impacts, the disparity in job and economic output distribution across counties and energy sources suggest that counties with different energy potential and population density will experience a variation in impacts. Given the rural nature of New Mexico and variable economic outlook across its counties, higher renewable energy diffusion may become an economic tool to stimulate growth in economically-depressed areas.