A few years ago, the City of Gainesville, Florida, drew some attention for its implementation of feed-in tariffs for solar. At the beginning of 2013, the policy was suspended, however. The strangest thing for Craig Morris was not the apparent glee with which some alleged supporters of renewables, including from the solar sector, expressed upon hearing the news. It was their inability to get the story right. I should start this off with a disclaimer: In 2008, Ed Regan, Assistant General Manager of Gainesville Regional Utilities, visited Germany as part of a fact-finding mission organized by SEPA (Solar Electric Power Association). I gave the keynote address and accompanied the group to Intersolar, the giant PV tradeshow in Munich. Regan went back and recommended implementing feed-in tariffs at his own utility in 2009. Granted, it was only for solar, and the program size was quite limited – but it was a start. Some of us hope that its success would be copied widely. Four years later, Gainesville’s FITs have been discontinued, a move now heralded by … Continue reading Gainesville’s solar FITs discontinued