Renewable energy law is a particular kind of

energy law Energy laws govern the use and taxation of energy, both renewable energy, renewable and non-renewable energy, non-renewable. These laws are the primary authority, primary authorities (such as caselaw, statutes, rules, regulations and edicts) re ...

, and relates primarily to the transactional legal and policy issues that surround the development, implementation, and commercialization of

renewable sources of energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

, such as 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 support laws

Renewable energy law also encompasses policies that relate to renewable energy and legislative instruments that further encourage its growth.

Feed-in tariffs

One such form of legislation is

feed-in tariffs A feed-in tariff (FIT, FiT, standard offer contract,Couture, T., Cory, K., Kreycik, C., Williams, E., (2010)Policymaker's Guide to Feed-in Tariff Policy Design National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy advanced renewable tariff, ...

, 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.EC, 2005; Morris, 2007; Butler & Neuhoff, 2008 In addition, the feed-in tariff generates more competition, more jobs, and more rapid deployment for manufacturing; it also does not pick technological winners, for instance between more mature

wind power Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...

technology versus

solar photovoltaics Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

technology.

Renewable Portfolio standards

This type of law is in force in 37 of the States within the United States, as well as Australia and a minority of European nations. It works by fixing the quantity of renewable electricity that must be produced, and leaving it to the market at what price this extra renewable electricity will be produced. This form of legislation typically employs a tradeable certificates mechanism, where 1 Megawatt Hour of electricity is equivalent to 1 renewable energy certificate.

Sector Regulation

The Role of the Sector Regulator is specified in the enabling legislation. For example, regulatory oversight of

feed-in tariff A feed-in tariff (FIT, FiT, standard offer contract,Couture, T., Cory, K., Kreycik, C., Williams, E., (2010)Policymaker's Guide to Feed-in Tariff Policy Design National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy advanced renewable tariff, ...

programs is essential, whether the price is based on a predetermined number (and with some maximum capacity), an

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

bidding Bidding is an offer (often competitive) to set a price tag by an individual or business for a product or service ''or'' a demand that something be done. Bidding is used to determine the cost or value of something. Bidding can be performed by ...

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 includes 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 Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...

, however, may choose to delegate these decisions, or a subset of them, to regulators; on the other hand, they may choose to remain silent on such issues. In the former case, of course, regulators have the power to exercise their discretion. In the latter case, 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.Frequently Asked Questions on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, Body of Knowledge on Infrastructure Regulation

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Renewable energy lawyers

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 Clean Tech Law contemplates a diverse set of legal and policy issues related to the development and commercialization of clean technology. These issues range from conventional natural resources law to cutting-edge intellectual property issues rela ...

Renewable energy laws by country

Germany

A chart summarizing German energy

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...

is available. Germany is a global leader in renewable energy legislation. To lower carbon emissions, Germany is undergoing an

energy transition The energy transition is the process of downshifting fossil fuels and re-developing whole systems to operate on low carbon energy sources. More generally, an energy transition is a significant structural change in an energy system regarding ...

from things like fossils fuels to renewable energies such as wind power. This transition is known as

Energiewende The ''Energiewende'' (; ) is the ongoing transition by Germany to a low carbon, environmentally sound, reliable, and affordable energy supply. The new system intends to rely heavily on renewable energy (particularly wind, photovoltaics, and ...

directly translating to 'energy transition'. The process of implementing these Energiewende started in the 1990s and continues to this day. To speed up investment to support Renewable energy systems, feed-in tariffs are put in to place with most offering a long term contract for twenty years. With these feed in tariffs, the primary consumption of energy while using renewable resources has grown from 1.9% in 1995 to 12.6% in 2015. This transition is also heavily supported by the German people; with 92% saying they support implementing more renewable energy systems. One of the most used renewable energy sources used is onshore

. Just over 35.5% of electricity from renewable sources comes from onshore wind power and it is claimed to be the most cost efficient renewable source.

Switzerland

:de:Energiegesetz (Schweiz)

Renewable energy laws by technology

Renewable energy laws can either be 'technology neutral' or provide specific assistance to particular selected groupings of renewable energy technology. Other aspects of land use planning law can have particular application to the implications of particular energy technologies, such as wind power.

Hydroelectric energy law

Conventional hydroelectric dams in most countries are highly regulated, with environmental reviews before construction and operational limits afterwards. Operation normally places river conditions before power interest, ie: power generation may not be needed at night while rivers are kept flowing.

Geothermal energy law

Laws and Regulations Applicable to Geothermal Energy Development. ... A number of federal laws, regulations, and Executive Orders apply to geothermal energy development activities. For the most part, state laws and regulations do not apply to geothermal energy development on tribal lands

Wind energy law

Solar energy law

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renewable Energy Law de:Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz