What's New

October 12, 2009

By Paul Gipe

Vermont's Public Utility Board Rules on Interm FIT Rates for 2009 <http://www.wind-works.org/FeedLaws/USA/Vermont

PublicUtilityBoardRulesonIntermFITRates.html> --Vermont's Public Utility Board (PUB) ruled in a decision September 30 2009 on interim feed-in tariffs for the remainder of 2009. . .

Reuters: New German government won't slash solar power rates <http://www.reuters.com/article/internal_Reuters

NewsRoom_BehindTheScenes_MOLT/idUSTRE59A1HE20091011> --Germany's conservatives and their Free Democrat allies will reform the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) but cuts for solar power rates will be modest to prevent harming the fast-growing industry, a coalition source said on Sunday. . .

SB 32 CalSIA FIT Bill Becomes Law--Could Bring Incremental Improvement <http://www.wind-works.org/FeedLaws/USA/SB32CalSIAFITBillPasses.html> --SB 32, one of several feed-in tariff bills in the California legislature passed the night of September 11, 2009. Governor Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law October 11, 2009. . .

The Spanish solar collapse by Craig Morris <http://www.grist.org/article/the-spanish-solar-collapse/> --There has been a lot of talk in the U.S. about the collapse of the Spanish solar market this year, commonly held to have been a solar bubble. However, few U.S. commentators seem to understand the Spanish market enough to go beyond the standard quip that the Spanish were simply throwing too much money at solar­and that feed-in rates were the culprit. A closer look reveals what Spain’s real problems were, and where those problems could happen in the U.S. as well. . .

Taiwan Proposes Renewable Tariffs <http://www.wind-works.org/FeedLaws/Taiwan/TaiwanProposesRenewableTariffs.html> --Taiwan's Bureau of Energy has proposed specific feed-in tariffs by technology in response to legislation passed mid summer. . .

Italy Likely to Surpass California in Solar PV in 2009 <http://www.wind-works.org/FeedLaws/Italy/ItalyLikelytoSurpassCaliforniainSolarPV.html> --Italy is expected to surpass California in total installed solar PV by year end 2009 according to recent statistics. . .

Ontario Rockets to Top Ten of Solar PV in North America <Click Here> --With activation October 5th of a 9.1 megawatt (MW) solar PV project in eastern Ontario, the Canadian province has rocketed to the top ten solar jurisdictions in North America. . .

German Energy Consumer Association opposes cuts in solar rates <http://notesfromotherside.blogspot.com/2009/10/german-energy-consumer-association.html> --The Association of German Energy Consumers opposes a drastic cut in compensation for PV arrays. A dramatic reduction in the feed-in rate would be fatal for the PV sector and destroy the momentum of previous years overnight. . .

CDU opposes strong cut in solar rates <http://notesfromotherside.blogspot.com/2009/10/cdu-opposes-strong-cut-in-solar-rates.html> --A few days ago, CDU politician Tanja Gönner, who is "tipped to become federal environment minister," made the following statement about the future of solar rates in Germany in an interview . . .

Prices for Renewable Energies in Europe <http://www.eref-europe.org/dls/pdf/2009/09erefreportfinal.pdf>  by Doerte Fouquet, European Renewable Energy Federation (a 2009 extensive survey of feed-in tariffs in Europe)

Hawaii PUC Decision on Feed-in Tariffs Summary <http://www.wind-works.org/FeedLaws/USA/HawaiiPUCDecisiononFeed-inTariffsSummary.html> --The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) decision on implementation of feed-in tariffs for the state is 128 pages long. Below is a quick summary of key points in the decision. . .

This feed-in tariff news update is partially supported by the Jan  David Blittersdorf Foundation in cooperation with the Institute for Local Self Reliance. The views expressed are those of Paul Gipe and are not necessarily those of the sponsors.

Paul Gipe