Feed-in Tariff Workshop July 21-22 Boulder, CO

Community in Power Feed-in Tariff Workshop featuring James Woolsey, Craig Lewis, Pegeen Hanrahan, Toby Couture, and Lois Barber.

Energy Independence and Security Through Deployment of Renewable Energy and Feed-In Tariff Policies

July 21st, 2010 ~ An Evening of Inspiration 6:00 to 8:00 pm ~ Boulder, CO at UMC on CU Campus
July 22nd, 2010 ~ Workshop on Feed-In Tariffs 9:00 to 5:00 pm ~ Boulder, CO at UMC on CU Campus

Feed-In Tariff (FIT) policies are now in place in over 60 countries - including six US states - and are proving to be the most widespread and effective legislation for the implementation of renewables.

For more information and to register:
http://www.communityinpower.com/

Italy Surpasses USA in Solar PV

From Wind-Works.org:

Italy Surpasses USA in Solar PV

Installing More Every Two Months than California in an Entire Year

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: http://www.wind-works.org/FeedLaws/Italy/ItalySurpassesUSAinSolarPV.html

Ontario - $9 Billion Feed-in Tariff Program

The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) recently awarded $9 Billion in Feed-in Tariff Contracts - nearly 19% of the capacity was awarded to community and First Nation groups.

This award represented 2,500 MW of new renewable generation capacity, with an expected 1,500 MW of new tranmission capacity and 80 MW of residential rooftop solar capacity to be added in the coming months.

See the sidebar for the full article 'Ontario Awards $9 Billion in Feed-in Tariff Contracts'

The Ontario award include 9 different renewable energy technologies with On Shore Wind receiving 77% of the contracts. For a detailed analysis of the awards, see the sidebar article 'Ontario Feed-in Tariff Update - Strong Market Response'.

Solar Today Magazine - Feed-in Tariffs Promote Solar Installations

The April 2, 2010 issue of Solar Today magazine featured a Viewpoint article by Tom Rooney in support of Feed-in Tariffs as a mechanism to spur solar installations and create jobs. Feed-in Tariffs programs by Gainesville, Florida and Ontario were highlighted. Click on the 'Solar Today Magazine' in the sidebar to read the entire article and follow the discussion.

Colorado Enacts 30% RPS By 2020

Monday March 22, Governor Ritter signed into law a bill that requires investor owned Colorado electrical utilities to provide 30% of electricity to be generated by renewable energy by 2020.

This will give Colorado the second highest Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), second only to California's RPS goal of 33%.

For more information, see the link in the side bar to the full article in the Denver Post article.

Note that RPS is a goal - Feed-in Tariff if the best tool to meet that goal!

Colorado 30% RPS by 2010

The original Colorado Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) of 10% RPS was passed by citizen referendum in 2004. In 2007 the Colorado Legislature increased that percentage to 20% by 2020. This year, 2010, the Colorado Legislature increased the RPS percentages to achieve 30% renewable generation by 2020 and requires a portion of the RPS to be met by "distributed generation" (DG) which does not require additional transmission facilities to connect to the grid. Other requirements of the bill requires consideration of employment and economic factors, a larger carve-out for DG, encourages in-state utility scale generation, installation of large systems by licensed electricians, and other requirements. See the link in the right panel for a detailed description courtesy of Colorado Capital Watch.

Colorado DORA PUC Report on FITs

During the spring and summer of 2009 the State of Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies - Public Utilities Commission performed a study of Feed-in Tariffs that was favorable and concluded that FITs are complimentary to the Colorado Portfolio Standards (RPS) and do not pose inherent issues with electrical power generation and delivery in Colorado.

The full text of the CO DORA PUC report "The Use of Feed-in Tariffs for the promotion of Renewable Energy: Applications in Colorado" is available at:

www.dora.state.co.us/puc/presentations/InformationMeetings/Renewables/08-20-09CIM_StaffFinal09-29-09_FIT-OtherIncentivesPromoteRenewableEnergy.pdf

This report was presented at the August 20, 2009 Commissioners Information Meeting. Data spreadsheets and staff presentations are available at:

www.dora.state.co.us/puc/presentations/InformationMeetings/09M-247ALL-CIMs.htm