Posted by Julie Patel on May 11, 2010 10:30 AM
Renewable energy measures that died in the Legislature last month may get new life in a few weeks. Gov. Charlie Crist told reporters Tuesday that he plans to hold a special session in a couple of weeks to address the BP oil spill in the gulf, including measures to beef up the state's renewable energy supply.
But Crist said he would want to explore options that would minimize costs to consumers. Josh Hafenbrack, the Sun Sentinel's reporter in Tallahassee said Crist on Monday said: ?You look at things that wouldn?t drive up rates ? tax cuts, incentives, things like that for the utilities to use more solar, wind and nuclear." (BOO on that IMO) That means programs like the Florida Solar Rebate Program could be revived.
The Legislature did not approve funding this year for the program, which provides rebates to people who install solar systems in their homes or businesses. But some environmentalists would like to see lawmakers take it further and finish what they started in 2008. That's when they passed a bill -- pushed by Crist -- to have the Public Service Commission develop recommendations for renewable energy quotas. The commission recommended that 20 percent of the state's electricity come from alternative energy by around 2020 but the Legislature did not approve the recommendations this year. George Cavros, a consultant for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said 30 states already have such targets. "Florida should do the same. There's no need to reinvent the wheel," he said. Susan Glickman, who is also with the group, said electric rates have increased in recent years due to fuel costs and new power plants -- costs that could be offset by measures to encourage saving energy and producing more renewable energy. She said costs for solar energy are decreasing and lawmakers can consider provisions to protect consumers from costs, such as price caps and competitive bidding requirements. The goal is to "create a robust market for renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies that are competitive," she said. During the legislative session this year, the House passed a measure allowing utilities to pass on the costs of new renewable energy plants and receive additional profit for them. But it did not clear the Senate, mainly because of the cost to customers. It's unclear if that idea will resurface during the special session. FPL officials said the costs of projects under such legislation are reasonable -- less than $1 per month over the 30-year life of new solar plants. "The monthly bill impact would then decline over time. The benefits clearly far outweigh the costs," Bubriski said.The sooner Florida acts, the faster we can continue the renewables revolution our state needs to strengthen its economic, energy and environmental security...We are ready to launch new renewable energy projects right away, which will bring thousands of new jobs and more cutting-edge, commercial-scale solar power to Florida," Bubriski said, citing a Washington Economics Group study on the economic impacts.
FPL makes the pitch for solar in this video about its Martin County plant, which will open by year-end. There may be another special session this summer to address corruption, including legislation to help keep the PSC at an arms' length from utilities it regulates. At the end of the regular session, Senate President Jeff Atwater said he was open to the idea.
Solar works. This past month we not only made enough energy to supply our home's needs, BUT we could have hung out a line and supplied our neighbor's needs as well.
Our bill was $16 (would have been a negative had it not been for the $24 monthly co-op fee) for a 1300+ sq ft house all electric. You see though, we are actually penalized by not using as much as we produce because we have to sell it back at a lesser rate to Chelco. If we used more energy (say a larger home) we would probably have saved even more (does that make sense??) Moondoogie is writing the whole thing up for me to share. If we get the rebate from FL then we will be getting this for a steal. (already a great investment though)Anyway, contact Crist NOW to say YES to SOLAR - the clean energy. After all, we are THE SUNSHINE STATE!!
Here's how to contact Crist about this
Tell Governor Crist: Bring Renewable Energy to Florida
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