Heikki Willstedt has been an expert in energy and climate change for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) since March 2002 and works tirelessly to analyse the role renewable energies can play in addressing climate change.
In this exclusive interview, he shares with Renewable Energy Magazine his views on the delicate act of setting feed-in tariffs to promote renewable energy uptake, without making industries over-reliant on state support.
"The best approach is to have a FiT which decreases year-on-year until it is eventually eliminated based on the technology and changes in forecast costs," cautions Willstedt, adding that: "Supposedly cheaper conventional technologies, such as coal and gas, need to start internalising the costs of their environmental impacts such as carbon dioxide emissions, while subsidies for these fuels should be eliminated to create a level playing field for all technologies to compete in the electricity market."
While the interview focuses on the solar thermal electric industry in Spain, Heikki’s comments are equally applicable to any renewable energy and will no doubt be of interest to industry and policymakers alike.
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Exclusive interview with Heikki Willstedt, WWF/Adena
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