Implementing an Effective Renewable Energy Policy in the United States: Can Feed-In Tariff Policies Be Successful for Advancing Renewable Energy Development?

This article explores the nuances of Feed-in Tariff policies as they are used to accelerate the development of renewable energy sources. Specifically, this article considers whether the United States (US) could successfully implement Feed-in Tariffs to advance renewable energy resource development. Although both popular and successfully used worldwide for this purpose, the US has been slow to adopt such policies. The success of a Feed-in Tariff program is dependent on the goals set forth by each jurisdiction; however, the two most important factors are setting the tariff at a premium rate, and keeping the design and implementation of the tariff administratively simple. Both of these factors are critical to encourage investors in renewable energy, and they are missing from most Feed-in Tariffs adopted in US state and local jurisdictions due primarily to the complex regulatory structure in the US energy market. The legal hurdles the US faces to adopt Feed-in Tariffs are explored using a comparative analysis with Germany, which was the first country to successfully implement Feed-in Tariff policies that have now been imitated worldwide. This article also reviews other policy approaches utilized in the US to achieve renewable energy goals including net-metering and Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPSs). The key objective of this article is to support the conclusion that, although popular, the US might not have a suitable legal regime or energy market structure for Feed-in Tariff policies to be an effective strategy for acceleration of renewable energy development.