Alliance for Renewable Energy

State Level Feed in Tariff and Federal Preemption Papers released

Jennifer Gleason of ELAW (Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide), and the Alliance for Renewable Energy has finished two exceptional papers on the issues of state level Feed-in Tariffs.

The first paper, Adopting State Feed-in Tariff Laws without Federal Preemption  is intended to help renewable energy advocates understand the concerns about federal preemption and understand possible paths forward for states to adopt robust FITs that are not preempted.

The second, accompanying paper Available Paths for Designing Strong State Feed in Tariffs is intended to provide sample language that could be used by states to implement a Feed-in Tariff that should not be preempted by federal law.  This language only addresses how the rates would be set.

2,100 Miles Later, "Rocket Trike" Nearing Washington, DC

The Alliance for Renewable Energy is sponsoring one man's ride to Washington, DC. Learn more:

And check out his blog for beautiful photos and updates from his trek across the United States!

Los Angeles Solar FIT Proposed

From Wind-Works.org:

The Los Angeles Business Council (LABC) today released a report calling for a modest solar photovoltaic (PV) feed-in tariff program in the City of Angels.

The second of two reports by UCLA's Luskin Center lays out a detailed economic proposal for creating a multi-tiered system of feed-in tariffs (FIT) for solar PV that would result in 600 MW of solar PV within ten years.

The proposal's limited objective will contribute to only 3% the city's electricity supply in 2020. Further, LABC's proposal considers only solar PV and not any other form of renewable energy.

However, the study itself, Bringing Solar Energy to Los Angeles: An Assessment of the Feasibility and Impacts of an In-basin Solar Feed-in Tariff Program weighs the costs and benefits of a program installing up to 1,000 MW of solar PV by 2020, the equivalent of 5% of electricity supply under conditions in southern California.

Read more.

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

Italy Surpasses US in Solar PV

 

From Wind-Works.org:

In a dramatic display of the power feed-in tariffs have in driving markets, Italy installed more solar photovoltaics (PV) in 2009 than the entire US. Moreover, within the first quarter of 2010, Italy's total installed solar PV capacity was expected to exceed that of the US.

Italy installed 720 MW of solar PV in 2009, nearly all of that on rooftops. In contrast, the US installed 435 MW during the same period, according to a draft report by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC).

Italy introduced a system of feed-in tariffs for solar PV in February, 2007 after concluding that the previous program of Tradable Green Certificates was not delivering the results desired.

By the end of 2007, Italy had installed five times more solar PV than in the previous year. Despite numerous bureaucratic roadblocks, the solar industry took off in 2008 and installed nearly 350 MW, then a record-breaking number. Solar PV installations have been doubling since then and are expected to reach 1,500 MW in 2010.

Read more.

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

Grading Feed-in Tariffs

From Wind-Works.org:

The World Future Council has issued a report grading North American feed-in tariffs for renewable energy. Only Ontario and Vermont make a passing grade. All other programs in the US and Canada failed to pass.

Gipe evaluated the programs using ten criteria that have been found critical in creating successful renewable energy policy. He then devised a weighting system to reflect the relative importance of each criterion. Most criteria received 10 points, some less. Tariff differentiation by size or application, a hallmark of successful programs, received 20 points.

• Program caps, 10 points
• Project size caps, 10 points
• Contract terms, 10 points
• Technologies included, 10 points
• Tariffs based on cost of generation, 10 points
• Tariffs differentiated by technology, 10 points
• Tariffs differentiated by size or application for each technology, 20 points
• Tariffs differentiated by resource intensity for wind energy, 10 points
• Inflation indexing, 6 points
• Bonus or social adders, 5 points

Read more.

If you would like a hard copy of the full report, please email us at contact(at)earthaction.org.

San Francisco Feed-in Tariff Conference

From the press release:

Pacific Environment, the World Future Council, the Boell Foundation and others are hosting a one-day conference titled “Feed-in Tariffs: A Time for Real Action on Renewable Energy.” The event will be held in San Francisco on July 12, 2010 to discuss the rapid deployment of renewable energy in the U.S. using Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), a policy mechanism that has been successfully implemented in Europe and other areas of the world. Focusing mainly on California and the West Coast, industry experts from government, business, and the environmental field will discuss Feed-in Tariffs as a policy option, and as a way to stimulate investment in renewable energy, increase energy security and promote economic development inCalifornia.

 

Key objectives of the conference include:

• Increasing understanding of Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), including their significant potential to address climate change, create new jobs and rapidly develop renewable energy
• Discussing how to draft and implement renewable energy laws in the United States, with a focus on California and the West Coast, looking specifically at Feed-in Tariffs
• Developing political strategies for implementing robust Feed-in Tariffs
• Building new coalitions and networks

Learn more and register.

Oregon’s New Solar Law Not a Good FIT

Sad news from Oregon:

Contrary to what some commentators are saying, Oregon did not just adopt a feed-in tariff (FIT).  ELAW has been working diligently to ensure that Oregon adopts a FIT because FITs have been proven to be the most effective and efficient means of moving renewables onto the grid. Sadly, Oregon’s program falls far short of the mark.

Read more.

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.

2009-10 Feed-in Tariff Report: Moving Forward with FITs in North America

  The following is a list of many of the FIT related activities that ARE Steering Committee members participated in, or were instrumental in bringing about in 2009 and from January through April 2010.

Fascinating, Simple Explanation of How FITs (a.k.a REPs) Work

Feed-in Tariffs are also referred to as "Renewable Energy Payments," or "REPs." This video from the non-profit Solar One explains how FITs work:
How Renewable Energy Payments (REPs) Work. from Chris Neidl on Vimeo.

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