Washington International Renewable Energy Conference: Canadian Viewpoint

We met an outstanding group of York University graduate students at WIREC. They have since written a fascinating article on the conference. We are honored to share it with you on our blog...

"At the 2008 Washington International Renewable Energy Conference, Dan Reicher, CEO of Google, stated, “Policy can make or break this revolution”. This is a powerful message for the renewable energy movement, and a dominant theme at WIREC, along with the necessity for collaboration and commitment. It is clear that investors need a stable policy environment that guarantees a long-term return on investment, and it is imperative that networks are expanded and sustained to share these best practices worldwide.

Feed-in Tariffs
We left WIREC with a genuinely positive sense that countries around the world are rapidly moving in this direction. Much discussion revolved around the need for policy stability, and what is commonly referred to as Feed-in Tariff’s (FITs) took centre stage as the desired policy. This policy guarantee’s that producers of renewable energy, from a  family home to a large business, can sell their power to utilities for an established price over a specific period of time.  Presently, 65 countries promote renewable energy, with FITs established in 45 countries and regions. FITs bring financial security, remove price risk, and guarantee return on investment – exactly the support that investors and community power projects need."

To continue reading the article, click here.