I swear, some of these names. When you hear or read the words “Feed in Tariff” you tend to think of something you might have to pay. Which is not very appealing – and in fact is quite backwards from the real meaning.

Here’s the deal… when you hear something about feed in tariffs in your state – rejoice! What it really means is that YOU could get PAID money for producing energy to feed into the grid.

Let’s use an example. (That’s the way I usually “get” things.) Germany has a great feed in tariff system. They pay 50¢ per KWH for any energy produced with PhotoVoltaic solar panels. All I can say to that is… FIFTY CENTS?!?!? Sign me up! There are lots of smart folks in Germany – one of whom is Farmer Schmitt (I made that name up.) He takes out a huge loan (millions) and installs an equally huge PV array in his sheep field. Considerately, he raises the panels up off the ground so the sheep can happily graze beneath. When all is said and done, after he pays all the expenses associated with the system, he makes about $60,000 per year off the solar energy his PV array produces. Which means he keeps farming, but puts an excellent chunk of money away for the future.

How is this paid for? Well, Germans are a forward looking lot, and they willingly took on the project. The average German pays 20¢ per KWH for electricity. Average rates in America are around 12¢. The effect of this? Germans are probably pretty careful about their electricity use because of the high price, and the extra is used to pay the folks who installed solar systems. The result is that although Germany is at the same latitude as southern Alaska, it has some of the highest solar electricity production in the world.

Is anyone thinking about Feed in Tariffs in the US? On a national level, the idea is not getting a lot of traction. Some states are considering it. For instance, Rhode Island is thinking about it. A great idea, since all of New England has either Class 2 or Class 3 winds.

Let’s say Rhode Island goes through with it. What then? Well, then anyone would have the opportunity to put up a turbine and make money. If I wanted to do it, I’d have to buy the turbine, get it installed and see to its maintenance. But then the state program would guarantee a certain amount per KWH for a set number of years (in the case of RI, I believe they are thinking about 25¢.) I could gather wind data, and have a pretty accurate idea of how much my turbine would produce and what my costs and profits might be.

How cool would it be to make money from wind turbines? I mean really… it would be a total win win situation. And who can argue with that?

This is the most basic information… just something to think about.

xoxo

The Queen