Earth Equity News

Feed-In-Tariff Bill to Be Introduced in House. By Phil Taylor Greenwire, August 3, 2009. "Reps. Jay Inslee of Washington and Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts are preparing a bill that would require utilities to purchase small-scale renewable energy from developers at rates equal to the cost of production plus a premium. The so-called feed-in tariffs proposal would set European-style guarantees for investors that many credit for a recent boom in solar energy in Germany... Proponents say feed-in tariffs can be more effective than renewable-energy standards, such as the one included in the House [Waxman-Markey] climate bill... because they offer staggered rate incentives for each energy source based on current production costs. The initial rate that utilities would pay for solar energy, for example, would be higher than payments for less-expensive wind energy... One widely cited model is Germany, which has become the world's largest market for photovoltaic systems and wind energy since passing its Renewable Energy Sources Act almost a decade ago. Germany more than doubled its national supply of renewable energy between 2000 and 2007 and was able to meet its 2010 target of 12.5% renewable electricity three years ahead of schedule."