Policies are a key driver for adoption of CleanTech because they provide the incentives to create markets, remove business uncertainties, and regulate the cost of technology implementation.  In 2007, the first US renewable tariff bill was introduced in the Michigan Legislature (Michigan Renewable Energy Sources Act), to encourage homeowners, farmers, and businesses to sell their renewable energy for a profit by allowing them to "feed" their electricity into the grid.

Many people call such tariffs "Advanced Renewable Tariffs," because the price paid per kilowatt-hour of electricity differs by technology.  For example, because solar is more expensive than wind on a cost per watt basis, the tariff for solar energy is much higher than that for wind energy so that homeowners can profitably install solar panels on their roofs across the state.  The bill also proposes wind tariffs differentiated by wind resource intensity. These differentiated tariffs limit potentially excessive profit from commercial wind farms at windy sites while allowing profitable development in less windy areas. This is important in a state like Michigan so farmers in the interior of the state can profitably develop their wind resources.

The tariffs are equivalent to those in Germany, where tariff-based incentives have created 170,000 jobs in wind and solar industries and would be the highest in North America if the bill is made a law.  The bill has passed both houses.

• Hydro less than 500 kW: $0.10 USD/kWh

• Biogas less than 150 kW: $0.145 USD/kWh

• Geothermal less than 5 MW: $0.19 USD/kWh

• Wind: $0.105 USD/kWh

• Wind energy from small wind turbines: $0.25 USD/kWh

• Rooftop solar less than 30 kW: $0.65 USD/kWh

1. •Solar façade cladding less than 30 kW: $0.71 USD/kWh
   

Proponents of the bill are hoping the tariff will revive Michigan's flagging economy, by powering the renewable energy industry, and adoption of solar, wind, and bioenergy.