CLEAN programs (Clean Local Energy Accessible Now) provide long term contracts with utility companies whose price is set to guarantee a modest return for investors. They have long been used in Europe (as “feed-in tariffs”) to spur renewable energy development, often with remarkable success. In Germany for example, CLEAN contracts have been credited with developing over 50,000 megawatts of wind and solar power. Indeed, so successful have these contracts been that Germany recently all but eliminated the premium paid for solar energy and re-directed the premium to encourage innovation in on-site use and storage systems.

While late to the game, Americans are finally in the game. In 2012, all or part of fourteen American states have adopted CLEAN contracts for renewable energy. Many more are in development.