North American Endorsements of Advanced Renewable Tariffs, Feed Laws, and Standard Offer Contracts

By Paul Gipe

 

Note: This page will no longer be updated. Endorsements have been moved to the Alliance for Renewable Energy‘s web site.–Paul Gipe

 


It is becoming increasingly apparent that North America needs to rapidly develop significant amounts of new renewable electricity generation to reduce our contribution to climate change. Germany and Spain have been remarkably successful in quickly adding massive amounts of new renewables through the use of a market mechanism known generically as Electricity Feed Laws.

Electricity Feed Laws allow the connection of renewable sources of generation to the grid and specify a price or tariff that is paid for every kilowatt-hour produced.

Various political parties, individuals, and organizations have endorsed the concept of using Electricity Feed Laws in North America. Though they may have used varying terms to describe the policy they wish to see, all support the general principal of allowing interconnection with the grid for all those who wish to do so, and paying a fair price for their electricity.

Canadians frequently refer to Feed Laws as “Standard Offer Contracts” because of the program with that name in Ontario. The program that was implemented by the Ontario Power Authority is an example of an Electricity Feed Law and is less sophisticated than the Advanced Renewable Tariffs currently used in Germany, France, and Spain. Renewable energy advocates hope that the Ontario program will evolve over time into a system of Advanced Renewable Tariffs.

Those supporting the rapid development of renewable energy in North America may use the terms Feed Law, Standard Offer Contract, or Advanced Renewable Tariffs to describe the same policy.

All signatories below reserve the right to support or oppose specific provisions of any proposed Feed Law. Moreover, endorsement does not preclude the signatories’ support of other policy mechanisms for the rapid development of renewable energy.

 

Political Parties

Ontario Liberal Party, 2004
Ontario Green Party, 2006
Manitoba Liberal Party, 2006
The New Democratic Party of Canada, 2006
Green Party of Canada, 2007

 

Non-Governmental Organizations

Sierra Club (National), Global Warming and Energy Committee, 2002
Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, 2004
David Suzuki Foundation, 2004
Great Lakes United, 2004
National Farmers Union (Canada), 2004
Ontario Farmers Union, 2004
Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative, 2004
WindShare (Ontario), 2004
Canadian Wind Energy Association, 2005
Manitoba Sustainable Energy Association, 2005
British Columbia Sustainable Energy Association, 2005
British Columbia Wind Energy Association, 2005
Canadian Solar Industries Association, 2005
Greenpeace Canada, 2005
Sierra Club (National) Energy Resources Policy, 2006
Renewable Energy Industry Association of Nova Scotia (REIANS), 2006
RENEW Wisconsin, 2006
Keystone Agricultural Producers (Manitoba), 2006
Val-Éo (Quebec), 2006
Manitoba Chamber of Commerce, 2006
Union des municipalités du Québec, 2006
Atlantic Energy Council (Maritimes), 2006
Ecology Action Centre (Nova Scotia), 2006
Coopératives Regroupées en Energie Renouvelable du Québec, 2006
Environmental Programs Students Society of Dalhousie University, 2006
Conservation Council of New Brunswick
Environmental Coalition of Prince Edward Island (ECOPEI),2007
Nova Scotia Co-operative Council, 2007
Earth Policy Institute (Lester Brown), 2007
Institute for Local Self-Reliance (David Morris), 2007
Earth Action (Lois Barber), 2007
SolarQuest (Ron Swensn), 2007
Community Renewable Energy Association (Paul Woodin), 2007
Sierra Club of/du Canada – National, 2007
Greenpeace USA, 2007
Post Carbon Institute (Julian Darley), 2007
Community Office for Resource Efficiency (Randy Udall), 2007
World Wildlife Fund-Canada (Keith Stewart), 2007
Center for Environmental Economic Development (CEED), 2007
The Pembina Institute (Canada), 2007
2020 Vision (Washington, DC), 2007
Sun Day (Ken Bossong), 2007
University of Iowa Mechanical and Industrial Engineering program, 2007
Eneract (Ontario), 2007
Falls Brook Centre (New Brunswick), 2007
Midcoast Green Collaborative (Maine), 2008
Iowa Renewable Energy Association (I-RENEW), 2008

Individuals & Companies

Gaëtan Ruest, Mayor D’Amqui (Quebec)
Mike Nelson, Northwest Solar Center (Washington State)
Les Routledge, Prairie Practitioners Group (Manitoba)
Angelina Galiteva (California)
Paul Craig (California)
Patrick Côté (Quebec)
Guy Dauncey (British Columbia)
Peggy Cameron (Nova Scotia)
Toby Couture (New Brunswick)
Steve Smiley (Michigan)
Rich Ferguson (California)
Bob Loebelenz, Lion Spring Sun Star (Massachusetts)
Arne Kildegaard, University of Minnesota, Morris
Woodrow (Woody) Clark II, (California)
Melinda Zytaruk, (Ontario)
Trident Booksellers and Café (Nova Scotia)
Jane Matheson (Nova Scotia)
Andrea Flowers (Nova Scotia)
Glen Estill, Sky Generation (Ontario)
Tom Starrs (Oregon)
John Eisler (Oregon)
Amos Hayes (Ontario)
Bill McKibben, Middlebury College (Vermont)
Julian Fischer (Maine)
Deanne Mott (North Carolina)
Enerworks, Bob Fisher (Ontario)
Charles Komanoff (New York)
Anne Ehrlich, Stanford University
Denis Hayes (Washington)
Craig Morris, Petite Planète Translations
Craig Lewis, RightCycle Enterprises (California)
Greg Pahl (Vermont)
Martin Pasqualetti, Arizona State University
Brooks McLaren (California)
Michael Heiman, Dickinson College (Pennsylvania)
Robert Righter, Southern Methodist University (Texas)
Andrew Wilkins, Énergie Matrix Energy (Quebec)
Hon. Stephen Owen, P.C., Q.C., M.P. (British Columbia)
Michael Totten, Conservation International (Washington, DC)
Alfred Cavallo (Washington, DC)
Dan Ihara, Center for Environmental Economic Development (California)
Harvey Wasserman (Ohio)
Scott Sklar, The Stella Group (Washington, DC)
Dave Timm, Canadian Wind Services (Ontario)
Lynette Tremblay (Quebec)
Richard Peisinger (Nova Scotia)
Ian Rowberry (Nova Scotia)
Janice Ashworth (Nova Scotia)
Jeff Brown (Nova Scotia)
Wayne Groszko, Solar Gain Project (Nova Scotia)
Aaron Smith (Nova Scotia)
Roy Logan (Michigan)
Paul White, Project Resources Corp. (Minnesota)
John Shears (California)
Jonathan Berkey, Monterey Institute of International Studies (California)
Steven Letendre, Green Mountain College (Vermont)
Jacque Charbin, RE Communications (Ontario)
Ron Murray (New Mexico)
Elaine Markowski McKee (Ontario)
Wayne Appleyard, Ann Arbor Energy Commission (Michigan)
Michael Colvig (California)
Jan Blittersdorf, NRG Systems (Vermont)
David Blittersdorf, Earth Energy (Vermont)
W. John Zemke, Pharm. D. (Michigan)
Paul Marshall (Michigan)
Dursun Moore (Texas)
Erik Kvam, Zero Emissions Leasing (Hawaii)
Hon. Kathleen Law, Michigan House of Representatives
David Ashworth (Minnesota)
Tom Faust, Redwoods Renewables (California)
Paul Cox, Logic Embedded Product Solutions (Washington State)
Jeffrey Michel, USCL Corporation (California)
Stephen Lacey, RenewableEnergyAccess.com (New Hampshire)
Benjamin Sovacool, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
Oliver Strube, RenewableEnergyAccess.com (New Hampshire)
Wilson Rickerson, Rickerson Energy Strategies (Massachusetts)
Daniel LeBlanc, Preneal Canada (New Brunswick)
Bo Boudart, Bo Boudart Productions (California)
Jim Martin-Schramm, Luther College (Iowa)
Delinda Robinson, (California)
Sarah Taylor, Windustrious Cleveland (Ohio)
Kathy Van Dame, Wasatch Clean Air Coalition (Utah)
John Grill (Maine)
Bill Akiona, OmniGreen Renewables (Hawaii)
Mike White, Island Carpentry (Maine)
Gordon Smallwood, Smallwood Solar Thermal Systems(New Brunswick)
Lance McKee, YourEnergyOptions (Massachusetts)
Neal Rauhauser, Stranded Wind (Iowa)
Jared Duval (Washington, DC)
Brad Burritt, Empowered Energy Systems (Colorado)
Ralph Parrott, Alternative Power Solutions (Texas)
Alan Frasz, Dovetail Solar & Wind (Ohio)
Laura Walters, Solar Energy International (Colorado)
Bob Young, Sustainable Energy Systems (Washington State)
Paul Fenn, Local Power (California)
Lawrence Plug (Nova Scotia)
Mark Sardella, Local Energy (New Mexico)
George Parker, Green Partners (New York)
John Burges (Florida)
Connie Merrill (Maine)
Hon. David Bly, Minnesota House of Representatives
Hon. Aaron Peterson, Minnesota House of Representatives
Hon. John Geesman, former Commissioner, California Energy Commission
Hon. Karen May, Illinois House of Representatives
Paul Piker (Nevada)
Mariana Pickering (Sydney, Australia)
Jinhyok Heo (California)
Rob Garrity, Finlo Renewable Energy (New York)
Brittany Hansen, Citizen’s Climate Lobby (California)
Terence Hill (Virginia)