On June 26, Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA), along with Reps. Bill Delahunt (D-MA), Jim McDermott (D-WA), and Mike Honda (D-CA), introduced the Renewable Energy Jobs and Security Act. The bill would provide guaranteed renewable-energy payments (also known as "feed-in tariffs" in Europe and elsewhere) to small- and mid-sized clean energy suppliers up to 20 MW in size, which is the amount of power produced by about 10 wind turbines. The bill has three main components, designed to provide long-term investment security for the rapid deployment of distributed, renewable electric generation facilities. It provides: 1) guaranteed interconnection to the transmission grid with uniform minimum standards; 2) mandatory renewable purchases by utilities, through long-term contracts with fixed-rate tariffs; and 3) cost recovery through a regional cost-sharing mechanism and system benefits charge.
The bill is in response to concerns expressed by developers of renewable resources that they face daunting challenges trying to get energy from their projects, often located in remote areas, to the transmission grid for delivery to load centers.