Minnesota Feed In
Tariff Could Lower Costs ILSR
January 29, 2008
Minnesota Feed-In Tariff Could Boost Renewables and Local
Ownership Say Advocates
Group Suggests Adopting "Michigan"
Tariffs
The Institute for Local Self Reliance
(ILSR) has released a policy paper on how Minnesota could dramatically increase the
growth of renewable energy while at the same time increasing local ownership by
using feed-in tariffs.
The policy brief by John Farrell titled Minnesota Feed-in Tariff
Could Lower Cost, Boost Renewables and Expand Local Ownership is part of a
grassroots movement of NGOs in Minnesota to put feed-in tariffs on the
states policy agenda.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that Rep.
David Bly, DFL-Northfield plans to introduce a bill into the assembly this
session calling for European-style feed-in tariffs.
The report is part of
ILSRs New Rules Project
intended to aid the new localism movement in North
America. ILSRs drive for greater local ownership of renewable
generation mirrors that of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) in
Ontario, Canada. OSEA led the successful
campaign for feed-in tariffs in Ontario.
Minnesota is the center
of North American efforts to increase local ownership of renewable energy. In
addition to ILSR, Windustry and Community-Based Energy Development are two other
well-known NGOs supporting community ownership of renewable
generation.
The report notes that the growth in renewables contribution
to Minnesotas electricity supply has stagnated
while that in Germany has increased. Not only are
renewables growing faster in Germany than in Minnesota, local ownership is greater as well.
Farrell, the reports author, attributes the difference to Germanys
attractive feed-in tariffs.
Farrell goes on to suggest using tariffs
proposed by representative Kathleen Law in HB 5218 introduced into the Michigan
House of Representatives in the fall of 2007. ILSRs recommendation is the first
time an American NGO outside of Michigan has suggested using the full suite of
tariffs proposed in HB 5218.
-End-
http://www.newrules.org/de/feed-in-tariffs.pdf
http://www.newrules.org/index.htm