We’re not sure, but American solar industry executives just might be catching the dreaded feed-in tariff fever. That’s right, feed-in tariff, a la Germany’s, sometimes referred to by solar energy policy geeks as "PURPA on steroids." That reference distinguishes between the ahead-of-its-time 70s legislation that allowed PV systems to connect to the grid, but did not specify the price paid for the electricity generated. A bona fide FIT tariff, however, mandates a tariff for up to 20 years.

At the American Solar Energy Society conference last month, Michael Vickerman, executive director of Renew Wisconsin, which was the first NGO to call for US FITs, pointed out that FITs "do not require huge transmission infrastructure investment." Meanwhile, 49 Florida solar companies have written Governor Crist calling for feed-in tariffs and cautioning against a Renewable Energy Credit market.

"There is a growing national movement pushing for feed-in tariffs. You only have to look at Europe to see how good it is at providing explosive growth and preserving market diversity," says Lyle Rawlings, CEO of Advanced Solar Systems and president of Mid-Atlantic SEIA, which voted for them 18 months ago.