California is studying a new incentive that could grow renewables—and change everything about the state’s energy supply in the process.
The feed-in tariff (FIT) has exploded renewable growth every place it
has been implemented and a
new study from UC Berkeley says it will do the same in California.
But handling explosive growth is not easy. The people responsible for
keeping the state's lights and air conditioning on are scrambling -- and
not always wholeheartedly -- to understand and prepare for the FIT.
A FIT is an above-retail rate ("tariff") paid for renewable energy-generated electricity that producers "feed" into the grid. It was first used in California in the late 1970s and early 1980s but failed at that time due to design flaws and lack of support. Revived in Germany with stunning success in the early 2000s, the FIT concept has subsequently been used successfully, according to Professor Dan Kammen, the lead author of the UC Berkeley study and one of the foremost U.S. renewable energy authorities, in at least fifteen countries. Dozens more are considering implementation.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Feed-In Tariffs Can Spur Disruptive Growth : Greentech Media
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