SMUD Offers Unusual Feed-in Tariff; But Not as Good as Gainesville’s
“The countries that have had success with feed-in tariffs base their prices on the actual costs of renewable energy generation. If the FIT prices aren’t cost based, they’re not likely to attract capital, for the simple reason that investors need to know they’re going to make money,” Couture explains. “This doesn’t need to be returns of 15-20 percent. Markets in Germany and Spain have shown that reliable returns of 5-8 percent are typically adequate to attract large amounts of investment to the renewable energy sector. This is even more likely to hold true in today’s financial markets.”
California recently held hearings at the California Energy Commission to examine different policy options, to try and replicate the success of European policy.
Not just Europe, either. Lewis fears that the average payments will be in the $0.017 per kWh range; not enough to attract solar project development. A similar utility in Gainesville, Florida has built 4 MW of solar through generous FIT payments of $0.32 per kWh. Gainesville’s tiny municipal utility serves 90,000 people, so it is comparable to Sacramento Municipal Utility District, with its 1.4 million customers.
Image from Sacramento Business Coach
Via Renewable Energy World
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August 18th, 2009 at 5:11 am
Nice little plug for CHP there. Whether it’s technically renewable is less important than the main issue: it’s clean. I’m associated with Recycled Energy Development, which does this work. And the potential nationwide is truly massive: an estimated 20% reduction in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions available RIGHT NOW if we did more CHP and its sister technology, waste energy recovery. Meanwhile, costs would fall due to increased efficiency. We should be doing a lot more of this!
August 30th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
I don’t understand what makes you think there is anything good about the Gainesville Feed in Tariff. It is one of the most mismanaged incentives in the US. Ed Regan should lose his job and the Cty Commissioners who allowed him to ruin the potential the program had should be fired as well. Don’t try to talk about Gainesville having a good program if you have never tried to work under it.
August 30th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
@Kevin: Do tell. What do you know? I take it you tried to work under it. Are you a solar installer or a homeowner – or in what capacity did you experience this? Tell us the problem.
October 30th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
[...] make before they install something. Rather than making it difficult for potential installers to jump through the bureaucratic hoops, this new law is giving them more support and making the whole process [...]
January 14th, 2010 at 12:35 am
Kevin,
I think it is time you disclosed your financial stake in these matters. I have noticed your trolling on every FIT I have come across in my news research.
Percy Gordon