Dive Summary:

• The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Board of Water and Power Commissioners has approved the first 100 megawatts of a proposed feed-in tariff (FIT) program.
• The program is designed to increase local solar power in Los Angeles by allowing customers, solar companies, and other third parties to develop renewable energy projects within LADWP's service territory.
• LADWP will offer the first 20 MW allocation of solar power capacity during the first quarter of this year, while subsequent 20 MW allocations will be made available every six months through 2016 until the full 100 MW is subscribed.

From the article:

LADWP will enter into a standard 20-year contract for each project and purchase the solar power at a set price, starting at $0.17/kWh for the first 20 MW. The price will decline according to a tiered price structure that caps the amount of power that can be reserved at each price. When each tier reaches its limit of reserve capacity, the price will be reduced by $0.01/kWh and fall to the next tier.

“If we did not buy solar locally through FIT, we would need to purchase other renewable energy from outside the city and bring it into Los Angeles to reach 25 percent renewables by 2016 and 33 percent by 2020,” Nichols says. “LADWP opted to set the initial price higher than what it would pay for other renewables to ensure the program has a sufficient incentive to become solid and sustainable.” ...