Alliance for Renewable Energy

US Joins International Renewable Energy Agency

The United States today joined 130 other countries as members of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in an Assembly meeting held here in the seaside resort of Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.

Ambassador Reno Harnish, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment and Science, signed for the U.S. government. He said: “The United States is extremely pleased to join IRENA. President Obama is committed to renewable energy to mitigate climate change, ensure energy security, create green jobs and lead a green recovery. Joining IRENA allows us to cooperate with 130 other nations to speed market adoption of renewable energy around the world.”

Read more of the ACORE Press Release quoted above.

NREL Energy Analysts Dig into Feed-In Tariffs

Energy analysts at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have just released several reports exploring how incentives similar to FITs could stimulate the growth of renewable energy in the United States. Read more.

(Photo courtesy of Flickr user, shared under a Creative Commons license.)

Payback Time - Germany's Renewable Energy Program

ARE Spring Newsletter

ARE just sent out its Spring Newsletter. You can read it by clicking here.

If you are interested in receiving this newsletter, you can sign up by endorsing REPs.

Upcoming Events

We encourage you to go to one or more of these events!

May: NREL Report on FITS: The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) is in the process of completing its comprehensive report on feed-in tariff (FIT) policy design and implementation options. The report is intended to help both citizens and policymakers better understand FIT policies, and improve overall FIT policy implementation in the U.S. It is expected to be published by the end of May, and will be publicly available on the NREL website.

May 15: ASES, American Solar Energy Society, panel on FITs , May 15th, 8:30-10:00 AM, Buffalo, NY. Panelists include New York State Senator Antoine Thompson; Kris Stevens, Ontario Sustainable Energy Association; Karlynn Corey, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; and Dave Bradley, Buffalo Wind Action Group.

June 8-10: The Solar Energy Industry Association, SEIA, at its PV America conference, June 8-10, Philadelphia Convention Center, will host a panel on Monday, June 8 from 11:00AM -12:30 PM titled, “Hasselhoff, Lederhosen, and Feed-In Tariffs: If It’s Good for Germany, Can It Work Here?” Wilson Rickerson will be on this panel. 

June 16: German-American Chambers of Commerce 5th Solar Day, San Francisco. Feed-in tariffs are a common theme at these annual events. Learn more.

June 17: Conference on FITs planned for San Francisco. Contact Glen Lindenstad, glenl@pacbell.net, 949 644 6494

US Legislative Action, January - April 2009

During this time, Renewable Energy Payment legislative action has moved forward in 16 states: Arkansas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Hats Off

Janet Sawin, Senior Researcher at the Worldwatch Institute and a member of the ARE Steering Committee, was selected in late 2008 as a Lead Author of the upcoming IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy and Climate Change Mitigation. Janet is part of a team of international experts that will be drafting the final chapter on Policy, Financing and Implementation; she is focused on the section that analyzes the impacts of FITs and other policy options. The IPCC Special Report, which will be released in late 2010, is likely to have far-reaching impacts on energy policy decisions around the globe. For more information on the IPSS report, see: http://www.ipcc-wg3.de/.

Information on Janet's work and the Worldwatch Institute, can be found at www.worldwatch.org; also in, State of the World 2009: Into a Warming World see http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5658 (the energy chapter in the book (Chapter 4: An Enduring Energy Future, which Janet co-authored with William Moomaw of Tufts University, also an IPCC Lead Author, is available for free download at http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5984).   

ARE member groSolar expands in Maryland

groSolar, a corporate member of ARE, is North America’s premier distributor, installer and integrator of solar energy solutions for residential and commercial installations. In a January 23rd press release, Chesapeake Solar, a groSolar company, said it will be expanding its office space and adding an operations/distribution center in Howard County. Read more.

Founded in 1998, groSolar now encompass offices and warehouses across the continent, distributing solar electric and solar hot water systems from offices in VT, NJ, NY, CT, MA, MD, DE, PA, CO, OR, MT, and CA. groSolar integrates components from leading solar manufacturers including Evergreen Solar, PanelClaw, Motech,  Heliodyne, SMA, Fronius and UniRac into simple solar energy systems for customers that generate clean, reliable energy for decades. groSolar is a mission-driven company dedicated to providing high quality solar energy solutions and whole energy appreciation. groSolar’s venture capital investors include NGP Energy Technology Partners, SJF Ventures, and Calvert Social Investment Fund.

Learn more at groSolar.com, or call 800.374.4494 from 8am – 5pm EST.

Columbia Graduate Consultants Release REPs Campaign Research Report

The Columbia University team of 12 consultants has completed their policy analysis workshop in collaboration with the ARE. To strengthen ARE’s renewable energy payments (REPs) campaign in the U.S., the team has compiled a final report entitled: “Renewable Energy Payments: A Policy Guide to Feed-in Tariffs in America” that captures research findings and analyses from the past 4 months.

In this workshop the consultants have integrated their professional experience and academic backgrounds to:

·      Design a research methodology,

·      Reach out to stakeholders, including federal and state policy makers, utilities, and businesses,

·      Provide newsfeeds on the ARE website,

·      Update REPs campaign action kits, and

·      Make recommendations to ARE to bolster their campaign

These efforts to add value to ARE’s ongoing campaign are summarized into a final report with the following additional features:

·      A “Green Standard” to implement REPs that includes key policy considerations and implications for program designs

·      Case studies that discuss the compatibility of REPs with the current U.S. energy policy agenda

·      Social and economic benefits analyses of REPs policies, e.g. job creation and investment security

·      REP public comment/legislative proceeding reviews and subsequent analyses on a broad sample of states with diverse energy profiles and political backgrounds

Download Columbia_Final_REP_Report_042909

To reference this report, please include the following citation information:

Authors: Columbia University MPA-ESP Spring 2009 REPs Workshop Team

Title: Renewable Energy Payments: A Policy Guide to Feed-in Tariffs in America

Release Date: April 2009

Source: EarthAction/Alliance for Renewable Energy

For inquiries, please contact the workshop management team, Nathalie Chalmers (n.chalmers@gmail.com) and Ellie Tang (etellie@gmail.com)

What's in a Name?

Countries in Europe where the policy we are promoting has been widely and successfully implemented, call this policy a feed-in-tariff (FiT). In Germany, ‘tariff’ means ‘rate’, and ‘feed-in’, means ‘to feed renewable energy into the grid’.  Here in North America, a ‘tariff’ sounds like a tax, and ‘feed-in’ sounds like a buffet binge, so FITs are being renamed. These North American names include: Standard Offer Contracts (SOCs), Advanced Renewable Tariffs (ARTs), Renewable Energy Rates (RE Rates), and Renewable Energy Dividends (REDs). Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA) first introduced this policy in the US House of Representatives under the label “Renewable Energy Payments,” which is the term ARE has been using. It is essential to note that Renewable Energy Payments, feed-in tariffs, and the other terms listed above all refer to the same mechanism or type of incentive renewable energy policy.