Title
Update on Staff Policy Recommendations for 2010 Solar Feed In Tariff (FIT) Program (B)
The Commission received a presentation on changes to the Solar Feed In program on July 1, 2010. Following the presentation, there was a request from the Commission to consider FIT program policy changes to better accommodate smaller-sized and residential solar systems. There was an additional request from local solar industry representatives to consider policies that would help them maintain an even workflow throughout the year.
Explanation
An important change to the FIT program for 2010 includes the addition of a third class of FIT systems that represents systems less than 10 kW in capacity, typical of residential and small commercial systems. The energy payment will remain at 0.32 $/kWh for this class in 2011 in an effort to encourage more small-scale distributed solar development.
One concern raised by local solar installers has been the potential of uneven work flow that can arise in programs that have defined time windows. It is detrimental to their ability to maintain a viable business if work flows intermittently due to policy decisions which set deadlines on receiving and approving applications. The majority of the work in this category is in small commercial and residential system installation.
To address this issue and to further encourage the deployment of smaller solar systems, GRU proposes to begin accepting applications for small systems (less than 10kW) on October 1, 2010. In addition, GRU proposes to set a maximum of 400 kilowatts for use by these smaller systems through January 15, 2011, after which any unused capacity will be made available under the general FIT guidelines. GRU expects that these two policy changes will accommodate all residents and businesses that desire to participate in the FIT program.
Recommendation
The City Commission receive a presentation on administrative policy changes that staff proposes for the 2010 Feed...
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