WASHINGTON, DC – Four House members today filed legislation that would provide much-needed investment security in the renewable-energy sector. U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.), Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and Mike Honda (D-Calif.) introduced the Renewable Energy Jobs and Security Act, which would provide guaranteed renewable-energy payments to small and mid-sized clean-energy suppliers up to 20 MW in size, which is the amount of power produced by about 10 wind turbines.
Modeled after a successful German policy called a feed-in tariff, the measure has three main components designed to provide long-term investment security: guaranteed interconnection to the grid; long-term, fixed-rate contracts with electric utilities; and, a rate-recovery program through a regional cost-sharing commission to minimize the impact on consumers. Beyond creating secure investment opportunities for small, distributed-scale renewable electricity generators many of whom do not benefit from existing tax incentives; it also would help utilities in states like Washington meet renewable energy purchase obligations.
“It is time for the United States to take a leadership role in the new ‘clean energy’ economy,” Delahunt said. By giving our own consumers access to proven financial incentives and boosting demand for clean energy technology we can position the United States to become a world leader in this emerging sector of the global economy that has the potential to create thousands of new ‘green-collar’ jobs here at home.”
“The cost of inaction on global warming extends well beyond the serious ecologic and human-health impacts that already are taking a toll on our environment,” Inslee said this morning during a hearing in the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality. “There also is an opportunity cost if we fail to help America’s brightest entrepreneurs quench the public demand for clean-energy technologies here in the U.S.
He continued: “With hundreds of billions of dollars in capital slated for investment in the clean-energy sector in coming decades, we’d be fools if we didn’t ensure American manufacturers would be on the receiving end of this rapidly growing market.”
The feed-in tariff enacted in Germany in 2003 has helped the European nation achieve 55 percent of the world's installed solar capacity, provide 14 percent of its electricity supply from renewable sources and create at least 140,000 jobs. Similar policies also have been adopted by France, Spain and over 40 other countries, provinces and states.
In the United States, measures that would enact such a system already have been proposed or considered in over a dozen states. Enacting a federal renewable-energy payments policy would streamline what could become a patchwork regulatory structure and an unstable investment climate for the U.S. domestic renewable energy market. It also would complement incentives for renewable-energy deployment, such as existing federal-tax credits as well as proposed plans to cap carbon emissions and set federal renewable-electricity requirements, among others.
Under the Renewable Energy Jobs and Security Act, the Federal Energy Regulation Commission would set technology-specific prices that utilities would pay renewable-energy suppliers with up to 20 MW of capacity. Prices would be reduced incrementally every two years over a two-decade span, with the goal of reaching or approaching market rate.
The legislation has been endorsed by over 80 non-governmental organizations, renewable-energy companies and clean-energy investors. It is expected to be referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. A companion measure has not yet been introduced in the Senate. Click here for the text of the bill.
In addition, Delahunt recently joined with Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) and Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) in calling for the creation of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), to promote the widespread adoption of renewable energy technology around the world.
IRENA’s mission would primarily be threefold. It will provide support to governments in establishing policies and programs that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. It will assist countries in conducting studies that analyze the potential of renewable energy and various sources of such energy, thereby facilitating the transfer of knowledge gained from successful renewable energy programs in countries like Germany. Finally, IRENA would work closely with financing institutions to develop and support innovative financing mechanisms to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.
-30-
Find below a letter of support for the legislation:
STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR FEDERAL FEED-IN TARIFF LEGISLATION
We applaud Congressman Inslee for guiding the United States toward a national clean energy policy that would help America develop a world-class renewable energy market, strengthen our domestic economy, increase electric grid stability and reduce our dependence on costly peak energy sources.
Under his policy proposal, self-sufficient Americans who want to generate their own electricity from renewable and clean energy sources are guaranteed interconnection to the grid, plus a long-term contract for a utility to purchase their electricity at a premium rate. The electricity and interconnection costs of the program are covered through a built-in surcharge that provides market stability while distributing costs equitably to all electric utility customers.
With a proven track record in over 40 countries, states and provinces worldwide, this guaranteed funding mechanism ensures that renewable energy capital is a sound long-term investment for individuals and businesses. Furthermore, renewable energy payments ensure that renewable energy investors are rewarded, not just for the capital that they purchase, but for the electricity that they produce, which sends a market signal for the generation of more clean power at the lowest possible cost.
Signed,
ARIZONA
Stephen M. Brittle, President
Don't Waste Arizona, Inc.
Phoenix, AZ
Larry Bell, President
North East Arizona Energy Services Company
Concho, AZ
CALIFORNIA
Rochelle Becker, Exec. Director
Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility
San Luis Obispo, CA
Robert McConnell, PhD; Director of Government Affairs & Contracts
Amonix, Inc.
Torrance, CA
Jenny Sherman
BioTour
Marin, CA
Francis U. Macy, Co-Director
Center for Safe Energy
Berkeley, CA
James J. Provenzano, President
Clean Air Now
Los Angeles, CA
Tam Hunt, Energy Program Director/Attorney
Community Environmental Council
Santa Barbara, CA
Aimee Barnes, Manager - US Regulatory Affairs
EcoSecurities
Claremont, CA
Karen Morgan, President
Envision Solar International, Inc.
La Jolla, CA
Kevin Danaher, Co-Founder
Global Exchange
San Francisco, CA
Jennifer O. Viereck, Director
HOME: Healing Ourselves & Mother Earth
Tecopa CA
Tom Kelly, Director
KyotoUSA
Berkeley, CA
Michael T. Nelson, CTO
Michael T. Nelson, Inc.
Redwood City, CA
Philip Tymon, Administrative Director
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
Occidental, CA
Michael Welch
Redwood Alliance
Arcata, CA
Stuart Magruder, AIA, LEED
Studio Nova A Architects, Inc.
Los Angeles, CA
John Wallace, CEO
Xantrex Technology Inc.
Livermore, CA
Roy Schwartz
Solar Power Partners
Mill Valley, CA
Gary D. Conley, CEO
SolFocus, Inc.
Mountain View, CA
COLORADO
Daniel Ziskin, PhD; President
Jews Of The Earth
Denver, CO
CONNECTICUT
Joel N. Gordes, President
Environmental Energy Solutions
West Hartford, CT
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Bill Holmberg
Biomass Coordinating Council
Washington, DC
Fernando Ausin
BioTour
Washington, DC
Erik Jansson, President
Department of the Planet Earth
Washington, DC
Carol Werner, Executive Director
Fred Beck
Energy Environmental Study Institute
Washington, DC
Jeffrey J. Burke, Executive Director
National Pollution Prevention Roundtable
Washington, DC
FLORIDA
Peter DeNapoli
Manager, Eastern Region
SolarWorld
Boca Raton, FL
John Burges, Managing Director
Think Energy Partners LLC
Sarasota, FL
Roger Messenger, PhD, PE
Vice President,
VB Engineering
Boca Raton, FL
GEORGIA
Gary Elliott, President
International Applied Engineering, inc.
Marietta, GA
Glenn Carroll, Coordinator
Nuclear Watch South
Atlanta, GA
INDIANA
John Blair, President
Valley Watch, Inc.
Evansville, IN
IOWA
Mia Kenyon Brown
Iowa Renewable Energy Association
Muscatine, IA
KENTUCKY
Andy McDonald
ASPI
Kentucky Solar Partnership
Kentucky Solar Energy Society
MAINE
W. Donald Hudson, Jr.; President
The Chewonki Foundation
Wiscasset, ME
MARYLAND
Tom Z. Collina, Executive Director
2020 Vision
Silver Spring, MD
Jeff Barnett, CEO
Blue Square Energy
North East, MD
Albert Nunez
Capital Sun Group
Cabin John, MD
Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D., President
Institute for Energy and Environmental Research
Takoma Park, MD
Peter Lowenthal
Maryland-DC-Virginia Solar Energy Industries Association
Bethesda, MD
Michael Mariotte, Executive Director
Nuclear Information & Resource Service
Takoma Park, MD
Erik Jansson, President
Potomac River Association
Valley Lee, MD
Rajat Sen, President
SENTECH, Inc.
Bethesda, MD
Neville Williams, Chairman
Standard Solar, Inc.
Gaithersburg, MD
Ken Bossong, Executive Director
SUN DAY Campaign
Takoma Park, MD
John W. Spears, CEM, LEED A.P.; President
Sustainable Design Group Inc.
Gaithersburg, MD
Donald Keesing, Coordinator
Voices Opposed To Environmental Racism/VOTER
Takoma Park, MD
Freyr Sverrisson
Partner, Sunna Energy Partners
Derwood, MD 20855
MASSACHUSETTS
Alan Palm
BioTour
Marion, MA
Ethan Burke
BioTour
Berklee, MA
Sandra Gavutis, Executive Director
C-10 Research & Education Foundation
Newburyport, MA
Debbie Katz
Citizens Awareness Network
Shelburne, MA
Howard Berke, Chairman
Konarka Technologies Inc.
Lowell, MA
Lois Barber
Executive Director
EarthAction
Amherst, MA
Wilson Rickerson, President
Rickerson Energy Strategies, LLC
Jamaica Plain, MA
MICHIGAN
Patti Glaza, Executive Director & CEO
Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization
Royal Oak, MI
Representative Kathleen Law
Michigan House District 23
Lansing, MI
MINNESOTA
George Crocker, Executive Director
North American Water Office
Lake Elmo, MN
Bruce A. Drew, Steering Committee
Prairie Island Coalition
Minneapolis, MN
Lisa Daniels, Executive Director
Windustry
Minneapolis, MN
NEVADA
Greg Hanson, President/CEO
Aqua Sun International
Minden, NV
Judy Treichel, Executive Director
Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force
Las Vegas, NV
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Caroline Snyder Ph.D., President
Citizens for Sludge-Free Land
North Sandwich, NH
NEW JERSEY
Lyle K. Rawlings, P.E.; Chief Executive Officer
Advanced Solar Products, Inc.
Ringoes, NJ
Daniel Poore, CEO & President
Noveda Technologies
Branchburg, NJ
John L. Cusack, Executive Director
New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability
Newark, NJ
NEW YORK
Gary P. Hoffman, Owner
Applied Thermodynamics
Middlesex, NY
Sylvester Johnson, Ph.D.
federalcarbontax.org
Brooktondale, NY
Gary Birke
Motorworks Clean Vehicles, Inc.
New York Area Dealer for:
Miles Automotive Electric Vehicles
Amityville, NY
Christine Donovan, Executive Vice President
New York Solar Energy Industries Association
Endicott, NY
PENNSYLVANIA
David Hughes, Executive Director
Citizen Power
Pittsburgh, PA
PUERTO RICO
Alex Casasnovas, Environmental, Health and Safety Specialist, REM, Ch Eng
Energy Alliance - Puerto Rico Manufacturing Association
Guaynabo, PR
TEXAS
Geoffrey Castro
Citizens League for Environmental Action Now
Houston, TX
UTAH
Adina Hamik
School Next Door
Salt Lake City, UT
Steven Keyser
Snowberry Ridge Zero Emission Residential Development
Salt Lake City, UT
VERMONT
Andrew Perchlik
Renewable Energy Vermont
Montpelier, VT
Bob Walker
Sustainable Energy Resource Group
Thetford Center, VT
Debra Stoleroff
Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance
Montpelier, VT
VIRGINIA
Michael Keeler, CEO
Ecologic Leasing Solutions
Great Falls, VA
Milton Copulos, President
National Defense Council Foundation
Alexandria, VA
Scott Sklar, President
The Stella Group, Ltd.
Arlington, VA
WASHINGTON
Denis Hayes, President & CEO
Bullitt Foundation
Seattle, WA
Susan Petty, President
AltaRock Energy, Inc.
Seattle, WA
Peter Brehm, VP
Infinia Corporation
Kennewick, WA
Terry K. Phelan, Owner/Architect
Living Shelter Design Architects, PLLC
Issaquah, WA
WISCONSIN
Steve Dvorak, P.E.; President
GHD, Inc.
Chilton, WI
Michael J. Vickerman, Executive Director
RENEW Wisconsin
Madison, WI
INTERNATIONAL
Hermann Scheer, MP
Member, German Parliament
Chairman, World Council for Renewable Energy,
President, World Renewable Energy Parliamentary Network
Berlin, Germany
Hans-Josef Fell, MdB
Member, German Parliament
Vice President, Eurosolar
Berlin, Germany
Stefan Schurig
Climate and Energy Director
World Future Council
INDIVIDUALS
Janet L. Sawin, Ph.D.
Derwood, MD
Vicki Eckels
Fort Lauderdale, FL
-30-