CLEAN Program (Feed in Tariff)
CLEAN Programs
U.S. communities have begun to implement Clean Local Energy Accessible Now (CLEAN) Programs, also known as Feed-in-Tariff programs, to spur the development of community-scale renewable energy facilities by allowing community members to invest in local renewable energy projects and sell the electricity they produce to the local utility with minimal risks, transaction costs, and complexity.
While this approach is relatively new in the United States, CLEAN Programs have been proven to be the most effective policy solution for spurring renewable energy installations around the world. Rather than relying on large, concentrated energy infrastructure projects that can take a decade or more to bring online, CLEAN programs rely on smaller distributed renewable energy operations that can be made shovel ready in a matter of weeks. CLEAN Programs empower community members to participate in the clean energy economy by making it easy for them to sell renewable energy to the local utility at a predetermined, fixed price for a long period of time. This approach helps communities to leverage private investment dollars to meet community goals, including:
- Creating local economic benefits
- Leveraging private investment dollars
- Reducing electric bills for community members
- Achieving the climate and sustainability targets of the community
- Providing a safer, more resilient energy infrastructure
Local CLEAN Program Guide
The CLEAN Coalition, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to accelerate the transition to cost-effective clean energy across the United States, is creating a Local CLEAN Program Guide to help communities evaluate, design, and enact their own CLEAN Programs. The first module, which helps communities and utilities determine how CLEAN Programs can achieve economic and sustainability goals, is now available to download for free. Applied Solutions has partnered with CLEAN to work as a distribution mechanism for this new toolkit.
To learn more about the Local CLEAN Program Guide and to download a free PDF of each completed module, visit http://www.clean-coalition.org/local-action/.
CLEAN Program in Action
Gainesville, Florida, implemented the first local CLEAN Program in the nation under the leadership of Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan, who was term-limited in 2010. Upon review of the Local CLEAN Program Guide, Mayor Hanrahan commented, “In Gainesville, we experienced tremendous success with our CLEAN Program. The level of solar deployments in Gainesville has grown by 2,000% since the Program’s implementation in early-2009. The Program required no additional government staff and created well over 200 local jobs. The Clean Coalition’s Local CLEAN Program Guide will be an invaluable resource to any community or utility wanting to duplicate Gainesville’s success.” The Local CLEAN Program Guide includes additional information about Gainesville’s program, such as the fact that Gainesville achieved these remarkable successes with no government subsidies and a rate impact of less than 1%.
CLEAN Coalition
The Clean Coalition works with communities to evaluate, design, and implement Clean Local Energy Accessible Now (CLEAN) Programs that meet local community goals, including: creating local economic benefits, leveraging private investment dollars, reducing electric bills for community members, achieving the climate and sustainability targets of the community, and providing a safer, more resilient energy infrastructure.