FAQ On Arkansas's  REFIT ( Renewable Energy Feed In Tariff ) 

Q: What is Renewable Energy (RE) ?
A. It is energy from Sustainable and non or low polluting sources.  Fossil fuels are a one time deal,
once an  oil field is depleted or the coal is mined, it's gone forever. Renewable or "Green" energy is
 generated from renewable resources (solar, wind, hydro, or biomass) and reduces environmental pollution. 

Q: How much is our electricity produced from Renewable sources?
A: Currently just under  3% of Electricity in the US is generated from renewable resources.
 
Q: How is most electricity generated?
A: The primary fuel source is fossil fuels with is concentrated Solar energy that was stored as
 Hydrogen and Carbon by plant life  long ago .  CO2 is one of many byproducts from fossil fuel
 combustion.  CO2 Levels over 400 parts per million in the atmosphere is undesirable and may cause climate change. 

Q: What type are Fossil fuels are used to make electricity? 
A: Coal, Oil & Natural gas. Most of the coal used in Arkansas is imported from western states. Many
 Utilities have to blend cleaner imported coal from countries like Venezuela to reduce sulfur content to
 comply with the clean air act.  We now import almost half of our fertilizer since so much natural gas in burnt in power generation. 

Q: How is Government involved in Energy  Production?
A: The US government spends billions of Tax Payer dollars dollars on Energy programs. Over 90%
 goes to Non Renewable Oil, Coal and Nuclear Industries.

Q: What is a Feed In Tariff anyway?
A. Framework which guarantees a rate of return floor for  Renewable Energy production feed into the
 grid for a certain time limit.  This is to  encourage individuals, businesses and farmers  to  risk
 investment in renewable energy generation. Germany's RE Industry is now larger than the countries
 car industry mainly due to FIT incentives! 

Q: What is a RPS ( Renewable Portfolio Standard) ?
A: It is a law mandating a percentage of renewable energy provides a percentage  of a state or
  nations power. More than half of the states has passed a RPS. A Summary can be found at  www.dsireusa.org

Q: Why is a FIT a better approach than a RPS or Tax Credits in helping to promoteclean renewable electricity production?

A: A FIT is a SIMPLE performance based incentive whereby the RE producer is paid for actual energy (kWh) The meter is the cash register, so complexity, 3^rd Party schemes & fraud are reduced. Jobs are created and green energy will be produced locally, not imported . An RPS does require utilities to meet a quota, however, they do this through purchasing RECs (renewable energy credits) from brokers. In most cases, those dollars go out of state and be bid up due to limited supply of RE. While large scale central generating facilities are important to our energy future mix, this RPS approach means importing RE rather than developing our own state's abundant RE resources.

Q: Who can participate  in Arkansas RE-FIT?
A. Anyone who  is willing to make Investments in Renewable Energy. Utilities, Farmers, Businesses,
 Homeowners. ONLY actual production is funded, no schemes or games - there are no tax dollars involved.