Feed-in Tariff – ‘Sunshine State’ lights the way

January 5, 1:33 PMBoomer Biker ExaminerBruce Hosking

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Photo courtesy of DOE/NREL, Credit Sam Garst 

In March, Gainesville, plans to launch a feed-in-tariff incentive plan that will enable residents and businesses in this progressive Florida University community to benefit from selling solar power back to their city-owned utility.

Feed-in Tariffs, a way of stimulating the proliferation of alternative energy production that’s been gaining popularity elsewhere in the world, has finally reached our U.S. shores.

At its December 18 meeting, the Gainesville City Commission endorsed GRU’s proposal to offer the nation’s first solar photovoltaic (PV) electric feed-in-tariff (FIT) program and ordered their legal staff to draft an ordinance. The program is scheduled to launch March 1, 2009

Gainesville’s FIT program is modeled after a successful program in Germany. Their program seems like a no-brainer to me.

Here’s how it works:

The feed-in tariff works because GRU buys back solar energy from participating customers at a rate of 32 cents per kilowatt-hour, a rate much higher than the cost of power from the grid.

Participants sign a 20-year contract with GRU and invest in their own PV systems to generate electricity. Income generated from Gainesville’s FIT is designed to cover the cost of PV equipment, financing and long-term maintenance. In the future, there may even be a chance to turn a tidy profit, as PV technology gets more efficient and the cost of equipment decreases.

FTIs add value to the community that’s not necessarily reflected in dollars and cents.

Similar to what has happened all across Germany as a direct result of FITs, generating more solar power in Gainesville will add value to real estate, create more local jobs, greater energy independence and reduced pollution.

Feed-in tariffs have been adopted by 45 countries, and a handful of U.S. states are currently debating it, In December 2008, the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles adopted feed-in tariffs, crediting Gainesville for lighting the way.