Our views: Job-killing mistake

Our views: Job-killing
mistake (March 28)

Legislature's failure on farsighted energy
policy hurting Florida's future

March 28, 2010

State lawmakers are halfway through a legislative
session they say is all about creating jobs.ýcc10.6;p

But when it comes to passing a comprehensive
energy policy to make Florida a major player in
renewable energy, they're failing miserably.

That's a job-killing mistake that's preventing the
creation of new businesses and industries, and
Florida will pay a steep economic price unless they
change course.

It's particularly harmful to the Space Coast, where
9,000 NASA workers at Kennedy Space Center may
lose their jobs with the shuttle fleet's retirement and
cancellation of the Constellation moon program.

Their high-technology skills make them a perfect fit
for the solar, biomass, wind and other renewable
industries taking root, an industry that grew three
times faster than the U.S. economy in 2007.

There's also a local foothold:

Florida Power & Light's new $78.9 million solar
power project on 60 acres of old citrus field south
of the KSC Visitor Complex. It's one of three solar
plants the company is building in Florida and has
already created 100 jobs.

Lawmakers block action

But Republican lawmakers consumed with wrong-
headed moves to open the state's coasts to oil
drilling, or who contend that state government
shouldn't take a major role in building a renewable
energy market, are blocking action.

That's sending businesses to other states and
nations at a time when Florida — with a 12.2 percent
unemployment rate, a 35-year high — should be
pulling out the stops to plug in.

For example, eight renewable energy companies that
have expressed an interest in Brevard County say
they won't come unless the state moves forward,
says Lynda Weatherman, CEO of the Economic
Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast.

Another casualty is a FPL proposal to build a much
larger, 100-megawatt solar plant at KSC.

That could bring 1,000 temporary construction jobs
and 50 long-term science and engineering jobs
here. The facility also could become a hub to attract
companies that manufacture solar components.

"We need to be able to capture these industries, and
the lack of an energy policy is an inhibitor," says
Weatherman. Passing a comprehensive plan "has to
be done this year" or it may well be too late, she
says.

Standards were killed

A chance to adopt the framework was at hand last
year.

That's when Gov. Charlie Crist wisely wanted to
require utilities to provide 20 percent of their power

— including nuclear — from renewable sources by 2020, standards that would have been an adrenaline shot for an alternative energy boom in Florida.

It passed the Senate but was killed by pro-drilling GOP forces in the House after they lost a last-minute gambit to end the ban on oil exploration in near-shore Gulf of Mexico waters.

The price for the rejection was high.

The rule would have created as many as 50,000 jobs in Florida through 2020, according to a Southern Alliance for Clean Energy analysis.

A Pew Charitable Trusts study last year also said Florida's not having a plan is choking development of its clean-energy economy, which grew 7.9 percent between 1998 and 2007, creating more than 30,000 jobs and 3,800 industries.

Others racing ahead

Meanwhile, other states are racing ahead and developing clusters of renewable industries.

More than 30 states have renewable standards, many of which call for providing 20 percent to 40 percent of their power from the new sources by 2015 to 2025.

That creates the market certainty companies need to make investments in plants, manufacturing equipment and production lines. It's also central to spurring small businesses, such as those that install and service solar panels, to open their doors.

Other nations also are leaving Florida far behind.

China is moving full-bore into renewables while Germany is the world leader in solar energy and the skilled jobs the industry is spawning.

It's building solar power stations across the country, including the world's largest, capable of powering 10,000 homes with emissions-free energy. It's also more than halfway to meeting the European Union's target for 20 percent renewable energy by 2020.

Against that canvas, it's clear the window is closing fast for Florida to become globally competitive, and that legislative proposals to advance tax credits for clean energy, while helpful, are nowhere near enough.

The Legislature should enact a muscular policy this year that calls for 20 percent renewables by 2020.

If it doesn't, other states and nations will be basking in economic sunshine while Florida is left grasping at air.