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The Los Angeles Business Council, in conjunction with UCLA’s Luskin Center For Innovation and a number of public and private institutions, has released a study examining the potential benefits of a feed-in tariff (FIT) policy in and around Los Angeles. That study concluded that a FIT would benefit all parties involved, including residents and utilities, and proceeded to call upon Mayor Villaraigosa to take steps to enact such a policy.

The study, which utilized advanced economic modeling and interviews with local residents and businesses, urged the city of Los Angeles to create the largest FIT program in the country, spurring rapid growth in solar power and the regional economy.

If adopted as suggested by the study, the program would:

  • Generate 500 MW of new solar power within 10 years
  • Meet 3 percent of the city’s energy needs
  • Produce 11,000 local green jobs in the installation, manufacture, repair and assembly of solar panels and other products.

Furthermore, the study asserts that the FIT would result in long-term savings for residents, businesses, ratepayers and the LA Department of Water & Power (LADWP). Businesses could cover 40 percent of the cost of solar systems using available tax credits and recover any costs over the life of the FIT contract with the utility, plus a rate of return of 5 to 8 percent.

Utilities would benefit in the long-term from lower transmission costs and gain access to reliable solar energy in the short-term — energy that would ultimately cost less than other sources of electricity.

The LA Business Council and its consortium also pointed to the FIT as an alternative to controversial LADWP rate hikes currently under heated debate. Those proposed rate hikes are intended to pay for conservation and renewable energy programs, but this study contends that a FIT would pay for such programs without any need for a rate hike.

Source: Solar Industry Magazine

Photo Credit: BillGraf

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