Paul Gipe, Feed-In-Tariff and Wind Energy Expert
Presentation Synopsis
Ontario, Canada, the hometown province of Paul Gipe, has committed to shutting its 6434 MW of coal plants by 2014, and as of February 2010, proponents of renewable energy projects have submitted 956 Feed-In-Tariff contract applications totaling more than 9,625 MW. As transmission and distribution networks are improved and as the remaining provincial coal plants are retired, a substantial number of these bids will be able to come on-line. Fast and substantial renewable energy development is happening in “sunny Ontario.”
Mr. Gipe will speak to the potential of Feed-In-Tariffs and how they help to drive robust renewable energy development. Under a feed-in tariff, an obligation is imposed on regional or national electric grid utilities to buy renewable electricity (such as solar power, wind power, wave and tidal power, biomass, hydropower and geothermal power), from all eligible participants.
Speaker Bio:
Paul Gipe, feed-In-tariff and wind energy expert, has worked with renewable energy since 1976. He has authored many books and magazines and has lectured widely on wind energy and alternative energy development. Through his writing and public speaking, Gipe has sought to popularize the use of wind energy worldwide. For his efforts, Gipe has received numerous awards.
Gipe’s interest in wind energy grew out of his wish to limit the environmental effects of conventional energy sources, particularly those of coal and nuclear power. He contributed to the seven-year struggle for passage of the National Surface Mining Act, which regulates the strip mining of coal in the United States. As part of that effort, Gipe co-authored Surface Mining, Energy, and the Environment.