Many credit the feed-in tariff, a premium price that utilities are required to pay for certain types of renewable energy, for the success of certain renewables in Europe. The feed-in tariff is widely regarded as the secret behind Germany’s robust wind energy industry. And Portugal’s feed-in tariff of approximately 33 cents/kwh for marine renewables drew companies such as Scottish based Pelamis and more recently, UK based Orecon to site early stage commercial wave energy projects in Portugal.
So could a feed-in tariff work for marine renewables in the United States? For various reasons, I can’t go into any detail on this issue. However, the New York Times (8/3/09) discusses recent feed-in initiatives in the United States on both the state and federal level as well as the pros and cons of the feed-in tariff approach. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
My name is Carolyn Elefant, owner of the Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant in Washington D.C. and I do FERC Fights. Whether a matter requires an appeal of a FERC ruling in federal circuit court, a request for rehearing, a vigorous defense in an enforcement action, the pursuit of a refund or general protection of interests in a FERC proceeding, I act as a tenacious, thorough and persistent advocate for my clients.
For more information, contact me at carolynelefant@fercfights.com or loce@his.com