Feed-In Tariff (FIT) success stories

From the time it established a FIT in 2009 to 2015, the city of Gainesville, Florida grew its solar PV capacity by over 5,300% and created 300 local jobs, while energy prices rose by less than 1 percent. By 2015, Gainesville, with more than 15 megawatts (MW) of solar generating capacity and 200,000 residents, boasted an installed solar capacity per capita total more than triple the United States average.

Established in 2013, by April 2018 the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power’s (LADWP) CLEAN LA Solar program was generating 47 MW of solar projects, with another 56 MW in development. In addition to significantly reducing carbon emissions, CLEAN LA Solar has also translated demand for clean energy into local economic growth. The program is expected to create 4,500 jobs and generate $500 million in economic activity, according to the Los Angeles Business Council. As Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti explained, “Until L.A.’s FIT was launched, 75 percent of our city’s rooftop market was ineligible for solar because of insufficient load or because so many buildings are non-owner-occupied or multi-tenant.”

High demand has prompted widespread calls to expand CLEAN LA Solar by a factor of four, which matches the plan Mayor Garcetti laid out while building support on the campaign trail. The Mayor promised to increase the production of local solar energy to 1,200 MW by 2016 — with at least 600 MW from the CLEAN LA Solar program. According to independent studies by UCLA and the Clean Coalition, expanding CLEAN LA Solar to this size would bring the city over 18,000 new job opportunities and up to $2 billion in private investment.

PSE&G is the pioneer behind utility-owned WDG in the United States. Their renewable energy initiatives have helped make New Jersey one of the leading states for solar energy development. The utility’s renewable energy initiatives, such as their Long Island commercial solar FIT, create jobs, make communities more resilient, stimulate economic activity, and help mitigate climate change. PSE&G’s success in deploying utility-owned wholesale DG led to its rise as one of the nation’s top ten solar-connected utilities.

The Clean Coalition provided leading policy support to clean energy organizations engaged in the legislative process to enact Vermont’s statewide FIT, known locally as the Standard Offer program. Through the passage of the 2012 Energy Bill, Vermont expanded the statewide program from 50 megawatts (MW) to 127.5 MW. The program was structured with no limit on the amount of clean local energy that can come online from facilities providing sufficient locational benefits.

The statewide FIT greatly simplifies the process for bringing local, renewable energy projects (up to 2.2 MW) for citizens, farmers, and small business. Under the Vermont FIT, around 28 MW of clean local energy generation was deployed in just three years.