If you put in Solar, or Wind or some other renewable energy generator on your property, what happens to the power you don't use? That's under debate in a lot of states.
There are two terms commonly used for this "sell back" of the power you generate: net metering and feed-in tariffs.
According to the Clean Energy Digest, "A FEED-IN TARIFF sets a flat rate that a utility must pay someone who generates renewable electricity. Feed-in tariffs allow small producers of renewable energy a certain return on investment without the volatility of wholesale and retail market pricing.... Because the rates paid under these tariffs are set higher than standard energy prices, they are effectively subsidized by the utilities who purchase the power. Those utilities may pass the extra costs related to the tariff on to their customers." NET METERING rules, on the other hand, allow small producers of renewable energy to offset their use of energy with production from their renewable generators. Under these rules production of energy effectively rolls back
the meter so that the producer is ultimately charged (or paid) for the net of their production and use. This type of pricing scheme is especially effective for small energy producers who consume more power than they generate."Net metering has had fairly wide adoption. 44 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico all have some type of net metering in place which DOES provide a financial incentive for customer use of renewable energy. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, "Net metering programs adopted in many states offer the potential for individuals or businesses to realize financial benefits from installing renewable energy systems. Net metering allows consumers tooffset the cost of electricity they buy from a utility by selling renewable electric power generated at their homes or businesses back to the
utility." Furthermore, "As part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, all public electric utilities are now required to offer net metering on request to their customers. Utilities have three years to implement this requirement."
So while customer-generated power is returned to the grid, and the return offsets the power which would normally be used by a customer, which is not directly paid, the net metering programs DO provide some type of payment for energy produced IN EXCESS of that needed/used by a utility customer, although it is often paid at prices far below retail or given as a credit on the customer's bill.
So, what about Feed it Tariffs? Thats when things could really get interesting for individual contributors to the grid.
1. Who controls whether feed-in tariffs are offered to citizens who generate their own power? Is it at the state level, or determined by the utilities, counties, or states? Feed-in tariffs are controlled by governmental entities and not local utilities. Currently in the U.S. the establishment and regulation of Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) is under the control of the individual states, but they are not yet widespread. "The diffusion of renewable energy FITs has extended from Northern Europe to include some 47 countries worldwide, but the mechanism has yet to gain much political traction in the United States," according to Tim Hurst on his "Sustainablog." He further states that "According to renewable energy expert Paul Gipe, “... Currently, the only true feed-in tariff system in North America is the limited program offered in Ontario.”" However, on June 26, 2008 a national bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to establish a national feed-in tariff, which if it becomes law, would in effect transfer control from the states to the Federal government. Under this law, "the Federal Energy Regulation Commission would set technology-specific prices that utilities would pay renewable-energy suppliers with up to 20 MW of capacity."
2. What states/ locations currently offer feed-in tariffs? California is currently the only state that has enacted legislation establishing official feed-in tariffs. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a feed-in tariff on January 31, 2008, effective immediately. The CPUC website says, "On February 14, 2008, the California Public Utilities Commission has made new feed-in tariffs available for the purchase of up to 480 MW of renewable generating capacity from small facilities throughout California. These "feed-in tariffs" present a simple mechanism for small renewable generators to sell power to the utility at predefined terms and conditions, without contract negotiations." http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/electric/RenewableEnergy/feedintariffs.htm However, the California law is not comprehensive, and there is still pending legislation in California that would expand upon the program currently in place. "Speaking extemporaneously at the conclusion of the German-American Chamber of Commerce's Solar Symposium on July 14, 2008 in San Francisco, John Garamendi, California's Lieutenant Governor, said it "seems to me we want to use what works . . . and feed-in tariffs clearly do." He also added that "we need to come to a decision quickly" so the state can move forward." (from the Alliance for Renewable Energy) http://www.allianceforrenewableenergy.org/us-reps.html
3. What states/locations are considering feed-in tariffs? Five states have pending introduced legislation to establish "Renewable Energy Payments" (REPs) aka Feed-In Tariffs Information on the pending legislation can be found here:
Reference: Alliance for Renewable Energy
The Alliance for Renewable Energy reports that a further nine states are currently considering renewable energy payments, or feed-in tariffs but have not yet introduced any legislation. They are:
- Florida
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- New York
- Oregon
- Vermont
- Washington State
- Wisconsin
LOOK UP RENEWABLE ENERGY AND INCENTIVES NEAR YOU
|
|
|
