July 15, 2013

CLP: Better, Not More Solar Policies Needed in United States

Cleantech Law Partners (CLP, San Francisco, California, US) has published an analysis of US state-level laws that promote greater penetration of solar energy, which concludes that the substantive quality of the legislation is more effective in generating clean energy than the number of laws enacted.


“Transforming Solar Laws into more Clean Energy” was published in the July/August 2013 edition of North American Clean Energy. The article mentions feed-in tariffs as a promising policy direction.

“With the exception only of California, the states with the most solar laws did not attract more solar energy development,” notes the article. “Unfortunately, America's increasing arsenal of renewable laws and regulatory programs has been relatively ineffective at increasing the amount of clean energy produced.”

Tax credits less effective, Congress missing in action

CLP argues that policymakers would be advised to consult industry leaders to develop legislation that is in tune with the practical needs of businesses. The firm notes that as one example, the continuation of current tax credits mostly benefits high net-worth individuals and corporations with enormous tax appetites.

The organization also notes that nearly all states have enacted more policies for renewable energy than the US federal government, and that the US Congress has been largely absent from efforts to expand renewables.

CLP will have a booth at the Intersolar North America trade show in San Francisco, July 8th – 12th, 2013, where its legal team will be available to discuss legal challenges facing renewable energy development.



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