Summary of Representative Inslee’s 2008 Feed-in Tariff Bill
By Paul Gipe
- Project size cap 20 MW
- Tariffs based on cost of generation plus reasonable profit
- Tariffs differentiated by technology and size
- Tariffs based on cost plus 10% rate of return under “good” conditions
- Tariffs based on regions with top 30th percentile of renewable energy potential
- Tariffs uniform across the US
- Tariff Bonuses for
- Improving grid efficiency
- On peak generation
- Storage
- Tariff degression for all technologies
- Program open to all, utilities included
- Right of connection
- Right of purchase
- Costs spread regionally among consumes through SBC on all US ratepayers
- SBC based on customer energy consumption and projected program costs
- Utilities would be reimbursed from RenewCorp funded through SBC collections
- Costs and funds would be pooled regionally
- Excludes use of federal tax credits or subsidies and state RECs
- Excludes use of net metering
- Utilities earn RECs for all renewable energy installed under the program (to meet their RPS obligations)
- Allows all citizens to participate in renewable electricity generation
- Includes all renewables
- solar thermal,
- solar PV,
- wind,
- geothermal (electricity generation),
- marine,
- hydrokinetic (wave, tidal, current, and free flowing streams),
- biomass as defined by Farm Security and Rural Investment Act,
- landfill gas
- biogas from farm wastes, and
- qualified hydro
- Expedited interconnection in two classes
- Prohibition against transmission charges
- Utilities required to upgrade transmission as necessary
- Suggests “clustering” of multiple projects greater than 2 MW (?)
- NREL & LBL to report on tariff study
- Review every two years
- Annual reporting requirements including the portion community owned
