A challenge by Vermont’s Department of Public Service had jeopardized several megawatts of solar PV projects that were awaiting financing and threatened to derail Vermont's precedent-setting program.
DPS is a part of the executive branch of Vermont's government that is led by Republican Governor Jim Douglas. Though Governor Douglas opposed Vermont's feed-in tariff program, he let the policy become law without his signature.
The state agency argued that a recent FERC decision ruling that a California program had violated Federal law “could potentially affect” Vermont's program as well, and that the Vermont "Standard Offer Program" should be suspended.
The Public Service Board, Vermont's highest regulatory authority, ruled that it will not seek clarification from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, effectively ending the debate for the Green Mountain state.
In North America, the term "standard offer" is used interchangeably with the more commonly used expression "feed-in tariffs". To further confuse matters, Vermont's feed-in tariffs are part of the state's Sustainably Priced Energy Development Program, dubbed SPEED.
Defence of Vermont's SPEED program was led by Renewable Energy Vermont. The advocacy group successfully argued that the PSB has no authority to rule whether the program violates Federal law. REV further argued that FERC's California decision had little "legal significance" beyond that specific case.
Vermont's SPEED program is the most sophisticated in the US. Tariffs are differentiated by technology and, for wind energy, also by size.
While the PSB's decision will not end the debate about Federal pre-emption of feed-in tariffs in the US, it sends a signal to other states that they can set feed-in tariff policy that avoids overt conflicts with the Federal government.
Determination of the Vermont Public Service Board
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