Vermont has become the first state to grow a pair, even if in a modest way. They have passed a Renewable energy Feed-In Law, based on the European model.
For some details, see here
The Vermont version follows Ontario's breakthroughGreen Energy Act. What these laws have in common is that a long term set price is provided to renewable energy producers, and the price varies by the source of this energy - lowest for large wind turbines, higher for small wind turbines, higher still for photovoltaic systems. It also has a decent price for biogas producers - great for the cow farmers, who can turn manure into methane and that into electricity. These prices are set by calculating the actual cost of production for a given technology, and then adding a reasonable profit. The electricity distribution companies have to blend the cost of the renewable power into the overall ratepayer base, which tends to be a bit cheaper than neighboring states,like NY. Their electricity will also get pricier when the contract with Quebec Hydro gets renegotiated in the near future. Vermont even gets a big chunk of its electricity from the two large NY hydroelectric plants run by NYPA (Niagara Falls, St Lawrence River), even though most NY'ers can't have access to this supercheap power. Oh well, I guess it serves people right for not having their community set up Municipal Electricity Utilities....
Vermont's cap (the amount of renewable capacity added per year is only 50 MW), which is likely to be about 10 MW or less of actual delivered electricity. The limit per project is 2.2 MW, which is about 1 commercial sized wind turbine. For 2007, Vermont consumed an average of 664.8 MW (info via the Energy Information Agency), so at this rate it would take about 56 years (they also generate about 69 MW by hydro and 33 MW from a 50 MW (capacity) wood burning boiler near Burlington. Most of Vermont's electricity comes from that ancient nuke near Brattleboro (Vermont Yankee), which is well past 40 years old.
The Feed-in Law will allow renewable energy producers to predict what their cashflow would be for the 20 year period of these contracts, because the price would be known. This is in contrast to the present NEISO situation, where no one knows what the price for electricity will be in the future. The knowledge of the price will allow them to get low cost financing, as opposed to the risky financing for "merchant projects" that rely on tax based subsidies, which only work when the owner has income from other sources to use for the tax credits and more important tax deductions. Those subsidies add risk, which renders financing as either impossible, or more expensive.
Anyway, way to go Vermont! And especially to the people who helped get this through the legislature. The state is actually a bit greener today than yesterday, and not because it rained there.
Now, if only the Assembly and Senate in New York State could pass A187/S2715....we could also jump on the Green Bandwagon. Otherwise, all this talk of "green jobs" and "a greener economy" will remain as mere talk, and wishful thinking.
Nb41