According to the NREL, feed-in tariffs - incentives that pay producers of clean energy a predetermined amount for the power they generate - are responsible for 75 percent of the world's solar energy deployment and 45 percent of the planet's wind power.
FITs are popular in Europe, and it is no coincidence that Europe is the largest market for both solar and wind technology. Under the continent's FIT regimes, the owners of clean-energy installations receive more for their electricity than fossil-fuel energy producers do. By incentivizing renewable power, European officials have made solar and wind extremely popular across Europe.
In fact, the NREL says, FITs were directly responsible for the installation of 55,000 megawatts of wind capacity and 15,000 megawatts of solar photovoltaic capacity between 2000 and 2009.
The lab's researchers suggest that FITs would be appropriate for the U.S., but the tariffs have yet to gain traction here. Just a few municipalities have them in place - though that could change if policymakers warm up to the FIT incentive model.
