12 October 2009-- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation Sunday that will create a feed-in tariff for small solar-panel generators and reportedly help utilities reach the state's mandated renewable portfolio standard.

The proposal would require utilities to buy power from solar panel generators that are 1.5 to 3 MW in size at set rates above what the utilities would pay for wholesale from other sources.

Some solar companies said the pricing would create a feed-in tariff of about 15 to 17 cents a kilowatt-hour, according to an article by Dow Jones. The California Public Utilities Commission is already trying to establish its own feed-in tariff program that would require the three largest publicly-owned utilities – PG&E, Edison International and Sempra Energy--to collectively buy 1,000 MW of power from solar panel generators between 1 MW and 20 MW in size over the next four years. The purchases would be made through "reverse auctions" where they would pick the projects with the lowest bids to meet their requirements. The agency is still reviewing proposals and the governor has said the CPUC should go on with their program.
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