The Heinrich-Böll-Foundation has released a new paper by key figures at the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank. The article, Green Power on the Rise: The Future of Renewable Energy Policy in the United States, includes a brief discussion of the possible role of feed-in tariffs in Congressional action on energy and climate change policy in 2009.
The lead author, Bracken Hendricks, serves as executive director of the Apollo Alliance and the director of the New Growth Initiative at the Institute for America’s Future. He is also a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and previously served in the Clinton administration.
Benjamin Goldstein, the co-author of the report, is a research associate with the Domestic Policy Team at the Center for American Progress.
The key passage follows.
“National renewable energy payments, in Europe better known as feed-in tariffs, are another policy instrument that has gained traction in Washington. Interest in renewable energy payments is fueled in part by their success in increasing renewable energy production in European countries, such as Germany and Spain. Congressmen Jay Inslee (D-WA), an influential Democrat in the energy and climate policy discussions, is a major backer of renewable energy payments, which guarantee distributed renewable energy interconnection access to the electricity grid, and a premium rate designed to generate a reasonable profit for investors over the long-term. While it might be difficult to pass this legislation in times of financial turmoil, the concept would provide exactly the kind of long-term commitment and investment incentive that has successfully fostered renewable energy development in other countries.”
