Arguing for Feed-in Tariffs

The world's best renewable energy law

The most successful policy to promote renewable energy deployment has many positive effects - the reason why we call it a Policy to Change the World. FITs

  • reduce CO2 emissions
  • create jobs
  • help secure domestic energy supply
  • guarantee investment security
  • drive technological innovation
  • and provide fair market conditions.

The basic arguments are outlined in our guide for politicians. Browse details and analyses of existing FITs worldwide at our Policy Action on Climate Toolkit (PACT).

As a member of our research team, Miguel Mendonca has been deeply involved in the public promotion of the "world's best renewable energy law" and wrote a  book with a comparison of different support schemes: Feed-In Tariffs: Accelerating the Deployment of Renewable Energy, which can be ordered here.

Particularly for the UK, we have commissioned an expert report on the potentials of a FIT system for small scale renewable energy solutions. Download the summary or the full report.

A series of articles and online publications outline our core arguments:

December 2007: Renewables: The ongoing battle
This article in Renewable Energy World covers FIT issues in the US, EU and UK, and calls for all supporters of renewables to work together more effectively in order to make better market progress.
Accessible online at renewableenergyworld.com.

November 2007: Natural Economy
A variety of Germany’s successful environmental policies are discussed in this article in Resurgence, covering the areas of transport, waste and of course energy, through their ‘EEG’ feed-in tariff.
Accessible online at resurgence.org.

October 2007: Feed-In Tariffs & Long Beach: The English Perspective
This op-ed piece reports from a major solar power conference in California, and explores various aspects of campaigning on feed-in tariffs, and why the US should seize the opportunities they present.
Accessible online at renewable access.com.

July 2007: FIT for purpose: 21st century policy
This broad-ranging feature looks at several aspects of feed-in, including how it is faring in different countries, why some countries may be against it, and the threat to national feed-in systems from EU harmonisation of renewable energy support schemes.
Download here.

April 2007: Energy, Ethics and Feed-in Tariffs
The focus of this article is on explaining the system and its benefits, as well as asking the question: why has it not been adopted more widely, especially in certain economically strong developed nations. Reference is also made to why the WFC supports the widespread introduction of this policy.
Reference is also made to why the WFC supports the widespread introduction of this policy. Accessible online at renewable access.com.

March 2007: Clear Profit
This article at clearprofit.com once again makes the broad case for FITs, offering tips on successful implementation, as well as a brief critique of the main alternative system. Download here.

Podcasts

This podcast with the WFC's Miguel Mendonca at renewable access.com identifies the reasons why policymakers should support feed-in tariffs as a win-win-win policy.

And Dirk Hendricks, Director of the European Union Liason Office at the World Future Council, spoke to renewable access.com about how a trading scheme could drastically change the market for renewable energy in Europe. Dirk Hendricks has been speaking with EU officials about the proposed trading system, and here he tells how the debate is playing out on both sides of the issue.


Recommended Reading
We have compiled a list of key papers in the discussion of renewable energy deployment. The WFC thanks the authors for their permission to post them here, and for their support of our work.