Los Angeles Kicks Off Its Feed-In Tariff Program

After years of studies and pilot programs, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the United States' largest municipal utility, unveiled the 100 megawatt  FiT Set Pricing Program (FiT 100), which will start on February 1, 2013.  Long favored in Europe to encourage renewable, distributed generation, a feed-in tariff or FiT offers generators standard long-term contracts, generally at favorable rates, eliminating the need for contract negotiations with utilities.  Feed-in tariffs are being introduced into U.S.'s renewable electrical generation market to fill the void between net-metering programs and utility-scale renewable energy projects.  While a range of renewable resources are eligible for the program, solar PV systems are likely to dominate the FiT 100 program.