There are a number of myths surrounding Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) and how they work because FITs fly in the face of conventional neoliberal economic policy. In conventional neoliberalism, the market sets the price. In FITs, price is set administratively and the market determines the volume. FITs are a market mechanism that can create rapid growth without subsidies and other incentives. Setting prices administratively is nothing new. Electricity prices have been set administratively--and still are--in most countries for a century or more. The links below touch on this and related issues.
Last month, I mentioned the recent proposal that Germany should throw out its feed-in tariffs and switch to a quota system. Via e-mail (would everyone please use the comment boxes below so we can...
Sandy: Since RECs vary in price and do not usually cover the costs of building generation (over and above wholesale or retail power prices in the US) plus a reasonable profit, doesn't that makes...[more]
Conversations about building new renewable energy almost always come back to the electricity from these projects being more expensive than fossil fuel energy. This may be the case (although it’s...
FITs Least Costly--Most Competitive Mechanism Says Climate Researchers[more]
Many renewable energy advocates argue that the market for solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) is a more cost-effective tool for incentivizing solar power than a feed-in tariff (or CLEAN contract)...
Feed-in Tariffs Saved French Ratepayers Money They Would Have Otherwise Spent[more]
by Cécile Bordier, Caisse des Dépôts, December 2008 This was a report in English by the French Bank, Caisse des Dépôts, that included the "overcost" from the French system of Advanced Renewable...[more]
Germany in particular stands out and is able to demonstrate many benefits that come with a strong volume response while being responsive to significant market developments. In a North American...
The movement for feed-in tariffs in North America has finally chalked up a few victories, and, as a result, more and more jurisdictions are turning to this policy mechanism. As they do, the...[more]
An excellent primer on why wind energy (and solar PV) needs feed-in tariffs. . .
Wharton Business School on the success of Germany's EEG. . .
Presentation explaining how the Merit Order Effect works and what it means to ratepayers. . .
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has never been known as a hot bed of progressive thought--it has long been dismissive of renewable energy for example--or accurate oil price forecasts for...[more]
The international accounting firm, Ernst & Young, has concluded that Germany's system of feed-in tariffs delivers more renewable energy at lower cost to consumers than Britain's Renewable...[more]
Presentation by Volkmar Lauber explaining why Feed-in Tariffs are superior to Certificate Trading. . .
The report by Britain's Sir Nicholas Stern on the economics of climate change asserts that electricity feed laws, like those in Germany, France, and Spain, have produced larger deployments of...[more]
Probably one of the more significant reports on the comparison between feed-in tariff policy and the quota model in the past decade because it clearly shows FITs are more "efficient and effective". ....
In comparison to quota systems, minimum price systems clearly perform better; they do not only perform better; they are more efficient too. And all the more so when it comes to wind energy. . .
CMI Working Paper 70 by Lucy Butler and Karsten Neuhoff, University of Cambridge[more]
Question: An RFP process is more competitive and more efficient - it serves consumers better because it results in cheaper power than Standard Offer Contracts. Answer: While this may appear...[more]
One-page description of how to set the price for a feed-in tariff. . .
Comparison of the quota system (RPS) to the amount system (Feed-in Tariffs). . .
A comparison of renewable energy support systems: Quota systems and feed-in tariff systems. . .
Feed-in systems . . . generally perform better than certificate markets imposing uniform approaches on a very diverse reality. . .
A Comparison of the Renewable Obligation in England and Wales and the Feed-In System in Germany. . .
