01/08/2013
Renewable Energy Law is a part of energy law, and relates primarily to the transactional legal and policy issues that surround the development, implementation and commercialization of renewable sources energy, namely solar, wind, geothermal and tidal. Renewable energy (RE)law also relates to the land use, siting, and finance issues encountered by developers of renewable energy projects.
Renewable energy lawyers focus their practice on serving the legal needs of renewable energy project developers and companies that develop clean technologies. See clean tech law.
Renewable energy law also encompasses policies that relate to renewable energy and legislative instruments that further encourage its growth. One such form of legislation is feed-in tariffs, which provide economic incentives to the developers of renewable energy projects by setting a fixed price for the sale of energy produced from renewable sources. Feed-in tariff laws also provide financial certainty, are more cost effective and less bureaucratic than other support schemes such as investment or production tax credits, quota based renewable portfolio standards (RPS), and auction mechanisms.[1] In addition, the feed-in tariff generates more competition, more jobs and more rapid deployment for manufacturing, and does not pick technological winners, such as more mature wind power technology versus solar photovoltaics technology.[1]
Role of the Sector Regulator is specified in the enabling legislation. For example, regulatory oversight of Feed-in Tariff programs is essential, whether the price is based on a predetermined number (and with some maximum capacity), an auction/bidding process, or avoided cost. In each case, the regulator monitors activities to ensure abuses do not arise. How external (environmental and health) costs are factored into program evaluation is partly dependent on the enabling legislation (or executive order). If the law establishes Renewable Portfolio Standards, the energy regulator will need to oversee the system and evaluate its effectiveness in meeting RE objectives. Generally, some other agency is responsible for certifying the generators and handling the certification system.
The sector regulator has a number of roles and responsibilities for operationalizing and implementing RE. The policy instruments include those oriented towards prices and quantities. The former (such as Feed-in Tariffs) provide the supplier with certainty regarding price, but the volume depends on whether that price is high or relatively low. The latter include renewable portfolio standards that require distribution companies to purchase specific quantities of electricity generated by renewable technologies.In addition, the sector regulator is in a position to give advice to the government regarding the full implications of focusing on climate change or energy security. Policymakers, however, may choose to delegate these decisions or a subset of them, to regulators; or they may choose to remain silent on such issues. In the former case, of course, regulators have the power to exercise their discretion, while, in the latter, the scope of regulatory discretion depends on what the legal system provides. In either case, the internal practices followed by the regulator need to provide legitimacy for regulatory rulings related to RE. Such practices include transparency and evidence-based decision-making. [2]
