Indiana utility gets approval to expand its feed-in tariff - Clean Coalition
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Indiana utility gets approval to expand its feed-in tariff

The program, known as FIT 2.0, enables NIPSCO to procure 16 megawatts of electricity from small-scale, renewable electricity projects within its service territory.

Craig Lewis


On March 4, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC)approveda petition by the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) to expand its voluntary feed-in tariff program.

The program, known as FIT 2.0, is a renewable energy purchasing program that enables NIPSCO to procure 16 megawatts (MW) of electricity from small-scale, renewable electricity projects within its service territory. This program is the successor to FIT 1.0, which created 30 MW of market capacity for local renewables.

FIT 2.0 is the result of a months-long settlement process between NIPSCO and numerous parties including the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, Sierra Club, Citizens Action Coalition, and Indiana Distributed Energy Alliance, which the Clean Coalition advised.

Under FIT 2.0, NIPSCO will offer 15-year contracts to solar, wind and biomass projects. The standard offer contract price varies by both technology and project size, as shown below:

FIT 2.0 Table

All capacity for Micro Solar, Micro Wind and Intermediate Wind will be made available when the program is approved. However, half of the Intermediate Solar and Biomass capacity will be reserved for a second allocation period, which will occur two years after program approval. Contract prices for the second allocation will decrease to $0.1380/kWh for Intermediate Solar, and the second allocation of biomass capacity will be contracted through a reverse auction with the purchase rate not to exceed $0.0918/kWh.

Projects submitted to NIPSCO within 90 days of the program launch date will be entered into a blind lottery. A Clean Coalition recommendation to require a non-refundable application fee of $25 plus $1 for each kilowatt of project capacity was adopted. This will ensure a more efficient program by deterring non-viable bids from clogging the lottery and project queue. However, other Clean Coalition and Indiana Distributed Energy Alliance recommendations regarding program capacity, project sizes, and pricing were not incorporated in the final settlement agreement.

Craig Lewis

Founder and Executive Director

Craig founded the Clean Coalition in 2009 and has over 30 years of experience in policy and technology innovation, including the proliferation of Solar Microgrids and Community Microgrids. Prior to founding the Clean Coalition, Craig held numerous positions in the wireless, semiconductor, banking, and renewable energy industries. Previously VP of Government Relations at GreenVolts, he was the first to successfully navigate a solar project through California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard solicitation process. Craig was energy policy lead on Steve Westly’s 2006 California gubernatorial campaign. His resume includes senior government relations, corporate development, and marketing positions at leading wireless, semiconductor, and banking companies such as Qualcomm, Ericsson, and Barclays Bank. Craig received an MBA and MSEE from the University of Southern California and a BSEE from the University of California, Berkeley.