The California Energy Commission (CEC) has accepted a staff recommendation to implement a feed-in tariff for renewable energy projects up to 20 megawatts (MW) in size, according to a report on Wind-Works.org by Paul Gipe.
"It's likely that some kind of feed-in tariff system differentiated by technology and project size will move through the policy machinery in 2009," wrote Gipe, who received the World Wind Energy Award in 2008 for his reporting work.
The staff recommendation calls for "must take" provision, requiring utilities to purchase energy from renewable sources. It also suggests that tarrifs should be based on the cost of power generation and that the CEC and Public Utility Commission continue to consider a feed-in tariff for projects larger than 20 MW.
Gainesville, Florida commissioners recently approved a solar feed in tariff of $0.32 per kWh for solar power--a rate that is comparable with feed-in tariffs that have boosted the solar industry in Germany.
Link to the Wind-Works article below.
