Electricity Feed Laws & Feed-in Tariffs
While not exhaustive, this site contains an extensive collection of articles on Feed-in Tariffs, Advanced Renewable Tariffs, Renewable Energy Payments, and what some Americans are calling CLEAN contracts. Learn more about feed-in tariffs and how they have been successful in Europe, and how they can benefit North Americans.
What are Feed-in Tariffs?
Feed-in tariffs are simply payments per kilowatt-hour for electricity generated by a renewable resource. In North America this simple idea is known by many different names: Electricity Feed Laws, Feed-in Laws, Feed-in Tariffs (FITs), Advanced Renewable Tariffs (ARTs), Renewable Tariffs, Renewable Energy Payments, and more recently CLEAN (for Clean Local Energy Accessible Now) contracts. Regardless of the name, they are the world’s most successful policy mechanism for stimulating the rapid development of renewable energy.
Feed-in tariffs are also the most egalitarian method for determining where, when, and how much renewable generating capacity will be installed. Renewable Tariffs enable homeowners, farmers, cooperatives, and First Nations (Native North Americans) to participate on an equal footing with large commercial developers of renewable energy.
Electricity Feed Laws permit the interconnection of renewable sources of electricity with the electric-utility network and at the same time specify how much the renewable generator is paid for their electricity and over how long a period.
Electricity Feed Laws have been widely used in Europe, most notably in Germany, France, and Spain.
Advanced Renewable Tariffs (ARTs) are the modern version of Electricity Feed Laws. ARTs differ from simpler feed-in tariffs in several important ways. Most importantly, ARTs are differentiated by technology, application, project size, or resource intensity. There is one price for wind energy, another price for solar, and so on. Tariffs within each technology can also be differentiated by project size or, in the case of wind and solar energy, by the productivity of the resource. Tariffs for new projects are also subject to periodic review to determine if the tariffs are sufficiently robust to meet the targets desired in the time allotted.
What are Tariffs?
Tariffs are the price paid per kilowatt-hour of electricity consumed, or in this case, generated. The term is commonly used in North America’s electric utility industry. The term is also commonly used in Europe. Tariffs are not taxes nor in this context customs duties on goods crossing international borders.
Naomi Oreskes offers nitty-gritty solutions to the world’s climate crisis
By
Charlie Smith
In a phone interview with the Georgia Straight, Naomi Oreskes said that this can be accomplished by focusing on three major areas: integration of electricity grids, feed-in tariffs, and demand-response pricing.
Global energy transition conference bigger than ever
By
Craig Morris
Undersecretary Rainer Baake praised the German government’s implementation of auctions, in which markets set prices but the government sets the volume – and the German government is using the policy to slow down renewables in the power sector.
All-Electric America
By
Karl-friedrich Lenz
Of course, if it turns out that this would lose money for the utility under present market conditions, one could think about establishing a feed-in tariff for electricity from car battery storage as an alternative to get this done quickly.
Study shows that renewable energy auctions don’t reduce costs any more than feed-in tariffs
By
Dave Toke
Despite the clear message from Paris that we need to expand renewable energy as rapidly as possible the means of promoting renewable energy now being chosen are much concerned with limiting its expansion. . . Big energy companies also like the system since they can dominate auctions more easily.
Feed-in Tariff Solves Net Metering Problems
By
Douglas Hunter
One policy is called net metering, and the other feed-in tariff (FIT). Because net metering has been found to destabilize the grid and also cause rate inequities, many utility companies have placed moratoriums on further net metering connections until fair and equitable policies can be developed.
Notice: Tables of Feed-in Tariffs Worldwide No Longer Being Updated
By
Paul Gipe
Please note that I am no longer updating the Tables of Feed-in Tariffs Worldwide. If anyone would like to assume responsibility for updating these tables, please send me a message.
