Alliance for Renewable Energy

Getting Connected: Why Sharing Electrons, Local Produce, and Radiohead Makes for Better Communities

Bill McKibben, scholar in residence at Middlebury College in Vermont, offers up his thoughts on why we need to have a personal stake in generating energy, and why being connected to the grid is important. Along the same veins as those who encourage one to buy local, he offers up a fascinating treatise on the importance of communities and personal connections with those around you. In his words,

"A few years ago, when we were installing photovoltaic panels all over our roof, the question was whether to go off-grid or to tie in. We chose the latter, connecting with our nifty SMA Sunny Boy inverter, but not really for technical or economic reasons. We chose it because we like connections — we like networks, we like community, even when it’s a community of electrons. I enjoy looking over at my neighbor’s house and realizing that, at least metaphorically, he is cooling his beer before the Red Sox game with the sunlight that is falling on my shingles. And I think one of the most important arguments to be made for renewable energy is precisely that it can help build community."

Click on this link to read the rest of his article, as well as to check out the fascinating links and books he recommends.

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

Solar Future Brightens as Oil Prices Soar

The future of solar power is bright - largely thanks to Renewable Energy Payments, or "Feed-In Tariffs," as they are referred to in this fascinating article from the Guardian. The article discusses the present solar power market and its high potential for growth. Tellingly,

"Demand is particularly high in Spain, Germany and Greece but Britain's PV market remains non-existent in the absence of a feed-in tariff. [emphasis mine]"

Read the rest of the article to find out more!

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

US Rep Inslee to Introduce Bill for Renewable Energy Payments

US Representative Inslee is about to introduce a bill for REPs, also known as feed-in tariffs, in Congress. From the article:

The congressman plans to introduce the bill to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, of which he's a member, in the next week or two. "Next year I expect to have a very serious discussion of this and perhaps passage," he said. Inslee is also part of a 15-member Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Inslee, author and supporter of other clean energy-supporting legislation, is the lead sponsor on the proposed bill and hopes to have co- sponsors.

Although few on Capital Hill know much about REPs, the winds are changing. Julie Blunden, vice president of public policy for one of the U.S. largest solar companies, SunPower Corp., said

  "A nationwide feed-in-tariff, if saleable (big if) politically, and well- structured, could be a great platform for solar industry growth in the U.S."

However, a few corrections to the article are necessary. Germany first enacted an FIT in the early 1990s, and the advanced REP has been in place since 2000, not 2003.

Read the rest of the article on CNN Money.

(Image of the Capitol courtesy of Flickr user BlankBlankBlank shared under a Creative Commons license.)

Who ARE is . . .

The Alliance for Renewable Energy—ARE—is a newly formed group of cutting edge energy experts like Wilson Rickerson and Paul Gipe, innovative policymakers like Michigan State Representative Kathleen Law, experienced energy policy analysts like Janet Sawin of World Watch Institute and José Etcheverry of York University, legal scholars like Jennifer Gleason of ELAW, leaders in the renewable energy industry like Peter DeNapoli of Solar World and Lisa Daniels of Windustry, and passionate renewable energy enthusiasts like and Randy Hayes of the World Future Council and Roger Peters of the Pembina Institute. 

These folks and many others have created ARE to bring the world’s most effective renewable energy policies, in Europe and elsewhere called Feed-In Tariffs (FITs), to the US and Canada. For their North American audience, ARE is calling this policy "Renewable Energy Payments (REPs)."

REP policies call on electric utility companies to sign 15-20 year contracts with any person, group, or business that produces clean renewable energy (RE) in their area. The utility companies agree to connect all RE producers to the electricity grid and to pay an agreed upon price per kilowatt hour for all the RE that each producer feeds into the grid. The prices vary according to the type of technology, the size of the system, and its location. Prices are set by a commission that meets regularly to determine rates for new contracts. In Germany, on average, electricity producers make back their investment to set up their RE system in about 9 years, and then have a steady stream of extra income.

The goal of ARE is to rapidly increase our switch from burning fossil fuels to using clean renewable energy by building support for REPs in the US and Canada. REP type policies are in place in over 45 countries, states and provinces worldwide. They create jobs, stimulate investments, encourage home owners, farmers, businesses and others to become producers of renewable energy, increase energy independence, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

The founding members of ARE came together at the 2008 WIREC (Washington International Renewable Energy Conference), held in DC in March ’08. They recognized that REP policies can do the most to help the US and Canada become leaders in the renewable energy revolution. ARE invites you to add your name to the list of people, businesses, and organizations that endorse REPs, and to become a member of ARE. We will keep you posted via our website about REP policy developments.

The 'Legal Eagle' section of the May/June issue of EnergyBiz magazine features a Guest Opinion piece that I wrote about feed-in tariffs (FITs)— now called REPs in the US and Canada. It's brief, timely and talks about why REPS have proven to be the most effective laws to accelerate the shift from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy. Click here to read the article. Click here for the main website of EnergyBiz online magazine.