The Alliance for Renewable Energy

Wisconsin: A Cruel Month for Clean Energy

By Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin

Renewable energy businesses and activists entered the month of April with high hopes of seeing the State Legislature pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA), a comprehensive bill designed to propel Wisconsin toward energy independence, along the way creating thousands of new jobs and strengthening the sustainable energy marketplace.  This comprehensive bill would have raised the renewable energy content of electricity sold in Wisconsin, while stepping up ratepayer support for smaller-scale renewable energy installations throughout the state.

Unfortunately, on April 22, the State Senate adjourned for the year without taking action on the Clean Energy Jobs Act bill, effectively killing the measure and leaving hundreds of businesses and individuals who campaigned for the bill empty-handed.  

If life imitates poetry, then the line that opens T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land—“April is the cruelest month”—aptly encapsulates the evolution of a campaign that overcame many obstacles in the final weeks only to be undermined by the unwillingness of Senate leaders to schedule a vote on the bill.

New York Solar Energy Society Calls for Feed-in Tariffs

 
From Paul Gipe:

The New York Solar Energy Society (NYSES) has sent out an action alert calling on its members to support Senate Bill S2715A, the New York Renewable Energy Sources Act. The bill was introduced by State Senator Antoine M. Thompson (D-Buffalo), Chair of the Senate's Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation.

NYSES' alert includes 14 talking points that explain why New York state needs renewable energy now and how feed-in tariffs will make it happen.

Previously, the New York State Solar Energy Industry Association (NYSEIA) had called for action on feed-in tariffs in support of Senator Thompson's bill. See New York SEIA Calls for Feed-in Tariffs.

Both Florida's SEIA and California's SEIA have called for various versions of feed-in tariffs in their respective states.

Neither the American Solar Energy Society nor the national Solar Energy Industries Association has explicitly called for feed-in tariffs. Recently, however, the Solar Alliance, a trade association of solar PV manufacturers and developers, posted its policy in support of feed-in tariffs. See Solar Alliance Position Paper on Feed-in Tariffs.

NYSES' campaign for feed-in tariffs in the Empire State is being led by Wyldon Fishman, the founder and current president of NYSES.

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

What's New with Feed-In Tariffs?

From Paul Gipe (Wind-Works.org):

• We Actually Can?! by Miguel Mendonça--When first writing on this site a few years ago, and advocating the feed-in tariff policy for market development of renewables, there were no such laws in Britain or North America. They are now coming into being, and this is in part due to the fact that initially small, but ever-snowballing groups of people, made it their business to push for legislative progress. . .
• South Africa's Nersa makes Refit phase two decision; contracts expected in November by Christy van der Merwe--The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) on Friday published it’s decision on the second phase of the Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (Refit), and stated that the power purchase agreement could be expected in November. . .
• What solar will cost in Germany by Craig Morris--The RWI study is therefore roughly 50 percent off the mark according to her calculation, i.e. solar is not that expensive. . .
• Michael Eckhart, ACORE, on the RWI "study" of German FITs--So, they figure, if they are to justify coal and nuclear, they must first discredit the FIT. . .
• Craig Morris German PV Investment Summary
• Germany Installs 2.34GW, FIT to Decline 9-11% by Ucilia Wang, Greentech Media--Demand in Germany has picked up since mid-year. The new ruling coalition seeks to calm fears of a cut to the country’s solar incentives. . .
• Globe & Mail: New rules could fuel green bonanza--Ontario's new Green Energy Act could pump as much as $4.5-billion into the hands of the province's renewable energy companies, utilities and power distribution firms. . .
• German coalition steers away from solar tariff cuts--The recently elected German coalition government has dropped plans for major cuts to solar photovoltaic (PV) feed-in tariffs. . .
• New York Times: Worldwide Feed-in Tariffs Best for Investors By John Lorinc--Countries that adopt policies obliging utilities to purchase a percentage of their power from renewable sources at above-market prices ­ also known as a “feed-in tariff” ­ represent the safest harbors for investors looking to finance clean-energy ventures, according to a broad-ranging risk analysis released Monday by Deutsche Bank’s global asset management group and Columbia University’s Earth Institute. . .
• Grist: Why solar won’t topple in Germany by Craig Morris--Since the new center-right coalition won the elections a few weeks ago in Germany, onlookers from the U.S. have been expecting the country to drastically cut its support for solar. . .
• Reuters: New German government won't slash solar power rates--Germany's conservatives and their Free Democrat allies will reform the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) but cuts for solar power rates will be modest to prevent harming the fast-growing industry, a coalition source said on Sunday. .