Few policies make renewable energy production easier than CLEAN (Clean Local Energy Accessible Now) Programs, also known as feed-in tariffs. The basic premise is to require utilities to buy renewable energy from individuals or businesses on long-term, fixed price contracts at prices sufficient to encourage them to invest. The most robust policies span multiple technologies (wind, solar, biogas) and set prices differently based on project sizes. The simplest ones may offer just a single price for one technology, e.g. solar.
Worldwide, CLEAN programs are responsible for 90% of the world’s installed solar power and two-thirds of the wind power. In 2012, 17 programs were active across 14 states.
ILSR CLEAN Program Resources
- 2012 report providing an overview of CLEAN programs in the United States: U.S. CLEAN Programs: Where Are We Now? What Have We Learned?
- A 2012 presentation summarizing the U.S. CLEAN Programs report
- An international comparison of feed-in tariff prices: Who Has the Most Cost-Effective Feed-in Tariff?
- A brief on the proper pricing for solar feed-in tariffs: Pricing CLEAN Contracts for Solar PV in the U.S.
- A January 2011 report on Ontario’s CLEAN program: Maximizing Jobs From Clean Energy: Ontario’s ‘Buy Local’ Policy
- Hot tip: How to sell a CLEAN Contract program to policy makers
- A 2009 landmark report on this policy in the U.S.: Feed-in Tariffs in America: Driving the Economy with Renewable Energy Policy that Works
- Our full archive of CLEAN Program / Feed-in Tariff material
- (below) The individual program rules that we’ve cataloged