House Democrats Introduce National Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariff

By Tim Hurst
This article was originally posted on Red, Green, And Blue, part of the Green Options Media Blog Network. Visit Red, Green, and Blue for more news on environmental politics news.

[social_buttons]U.S. Representatives Jay Inslee (D-WA), Bill Delahunt (D-MA), Jim McDermott (D-WA), and Mike Honda (D-CA) introduced landmark legislation [PDF] on Thursday that will provide security for investments in the renewable-energy sector by guaranteeing rates for renewable-energy generation. This policy mechanism, also known as a national feed-in tariff, may be the single most effective tool to expand renewable energy development that we know of. Feed-in tariffs have been introduced in several U.S. states, but none have the bills have been passed into law.

The International Energy Agency, the European Commission and the United Kingdom’s Stern Review have determined that feed-in tariff policies in Germany, Spain, France and other European Union countries have achieved larger renewable energy deployment at lower costs, compared with policies in other European Union countries.

The legislation has two principle titles. The first would streamline interconnection standards and the patchwork of policies currently governing interconnection. The second title addresses the actual process of setting of renewable energy tariffs, and what would qualify. This bill would not only apply to the mom and pop backyard wind turbines, and rooftop solar - the tariff extends to projects as large as 20 megawatts!

As it is currently written, the tariff would be revisited no later than one year after it is enacted and every two years thereafter, thus incorporating a ratcheting mechanism that allows the rate-setters to adjust for technological advances, bottlenecks in supply chains, changes in demand, and other unforeseen stimuli that might necessitate a rate revision.

According to a statement released by the bill’s co-sponsors:

“Enacting a federal renewable-energy payments policy would streamline what could become a patchwork regulatory structure and an unstable investment climate for the U.S. domestic renewable energy market. It also would complement incentives for renewable-energy deployment, such as existing federal-tax credits as well as proposed plans to cap carbon emissions and set federal renewable-electricity requirements, among others.”

Rep. Jay Inslee:

“With hundreds of billions of dollars in capital slated for investment in the clean-energy sector in coming decades, we’d be fools if we didn’t ensure American manufacturers would be on the receiving end of this rapidly growing market.”

Rep. Bill Delahunt:

“It is time for the United States to take a leadership role in the new ‘clean energy’ economy. By giving our own consumers access to proven financial incentives and boosting demand for clean energy technology we can position the United States to become a world leader in this emerging sector of the global economy that has the potential to create thousands of new ‘green-collar’ jobs here at home.

Other Posts About Feed-in Tariffs

“Illinois: Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff Introduced in House of Representatives”
“Germans Debate Renewable Energy Price Supports”
“Feed-in Tariffs: The Quick and Dirty“

Photo: Thomas Roche via Flickr under a Creative Commons License

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