The Gainesville City Commission has approved a solar feed-in tariff for residential and business customers served by the Gainesville Regional Utilities in Florida, making it the first such program in the country.

The approval followed a previous vote by the commission last December to draft an ordinance for the program. Under the program, which still needs the state’s approval, owners of solar energy systems would sell the electricity to the utilities at $0.32 per kilowatt-hour under a 20-year contract. The rate, which is higher than the price for conventional power, will remain for the first two years of the program.

The rate likely to be adjusted lower for new solar energy system owners after the first of the two years to reflect the expected declining costs of owning and operating solar energy systems.

The program is modeled after the successful one in Germany, which has become one of the largest solar markets in the world. Spain, France, Italy and other European countries also have similar programs. Utilities there also are required to buy all the solar power available for sale at prices higher than conventional power.

The Gainesville program could take effect as early as March 1.