An objective assessment of feed-in tariffs in Michigan shows they may not create as many jobs as promised.

A report on proposed feed-in tariffs (FITs) in Michigan concludes that the number of green jobs created by FITs would be far less than hoped for and that the negative impacts of FITs would be out of proportion to the positive impacts.

The white paper , “Feed-In Tariffs: Are They Right For Michigan,” free to download, was written by Richard A, Barclay, Director of Research and Policy Development for the Michigan Electric Cooperative Association, and was released at a recent MECA board of directors meeting.

“Interpolating from German statistics, Michigan FITs might create 4,500 green jobs at most, not accounting for jobs lost and assuming all the RES parts were manufactured in Michigan,” writes Barclay.

In the report, Barclay says total green jobs already account for 3 percent of the Michigan labor force, which makes Michigan’s record without a FIT about the same as Germany’s.