Bill Could Put Long Island on a Faster Path to Widespread Solar (solar feed-in tariff)

[jpak]

http://sunpluggers.com/news/bill-could-put-long-island-on-faster-path-to-widespread-solar-0675

A year after it was filed, a measure that would require the Long Island Power Authority to establish a feed-in tariff for solar electricity production has quietly made its way to the voting calendar in New York's state legislature.

Whether the bill will go any further is uncertain. Another solar-related measure in New York would establish a different, statewide renewable-energy financing mechanism aimed at dramatically increasing solar adoption. If that legislation should pass, it's not clear whether or how it would affect a feed-in tariff limited to Long Island.

In addition, the Long Island Power Authority already offers incentive programs for homes and businesses with terms that, when combined with tax credits, can make solar photovoltaic systems a compelling bargain for LIPA customers with southerly access to shade-free sunlight.

If the Long Island bill should proceed to floor votes, be approved in both houses and signed by the governor, it would mark the first large-scale use in the United States of an incentive method that has had a dramatic effect in spurring solar development around the world.

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[tk2kewl]

1. I would really like to do solar on my LI home

The article is sort of thin on details of how a "feed-in tariff" works, but wikipedia provides a little more insight: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feed-in_tariff .

I just finished building my home with geothermal heating and cooling and received a HERS rating of 38. I just haven't had enough capital to do the solar yet. I will be paying closer attention to this to see if it can at least help me offset payments on a new system.