Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) has announced that it has reached its first year solar PV reservation target with a groundbreaking feed-in tariff.
The Florida municipal utility will continue accepting reservations for an additional 4 MW in 2010 on a first come first serve basis.
Gainesville’s program goes live March 1st.
The 2009 solar PV tariff of $0.32/kWh for twenty years will remain in effect for 2010 reservations.
GRU’s press release announcing the milestone gave no indication how much of the 4 MW in signed contracts they expect will be built in 2009. However, John Crider, one of the program’s designers, said he’s “expecting all 4 MW to be built in the next seven months, and if for any unforeseen circumstance any of the projects are withdrawn from the queue, the available capacity will immediately be transferred to the next project in line.”
The Gainesville muni’s program has generated interest all across the state. The Sarasota Herald Tribune reports that an unusual alliance between a liberal Democrat and a conservative Republican are working on a statewide feed-in tariff policy.
- GRU Achieves First Year Target for Solar Program February 27, 2009
- When the sun shines, and the dollars add up Sarasota Herald Tribune–By Zac Anderson. Mike Roach is not your typical energy entrepreneur. But thanks to a wealth of roof space at his Gainesville warehouse, Roach will soon install nearly 100 solar panels and earn an annual profit of $14,000 by selling his solar energy back to the electric company. . .
