Renewable-energy plan for Florida on agenda

Renewable-energy plan for Florida on agenda

By JOHN DORSCHNER
jdorschner@MiamiHerald.com

Posted on Wed, Aug. 20, 2008

In a major step to determine Florida's energy supply over the next 42 years, the staff of the Public Service Commission is recommending an extremely slow buildup in the use of renewable energy.

By the year 2010, each investor-owned utility in the state would be required to produce 2 percent of its power from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, the staff suggests, increasing to 3.75 percent by 2017, 6 percent by 2025 and 20 percent by 2050.

Gov. Charlie Crist last year proposed a flat 20 percent standard but didn't set a timetable. After much discussion in its last session, the Legislature ordered the PSC to recommend a renewable energy portfolio standard and report back to lawmakers next year.

The matter is scheduled to come up for discussion at a workshop in Tallahassee on Wednesday, in which environmentalists, members of the renewable energy industry and utility representatives will talk about creating a standard.

At present, Florida gets 1.9 percent of its power from renewables, according to federal data. Florida Power & Light is proposing three solar plants that would add less than 0.5 percent of the power it uses.

DRIVE UP COSTS

Some energy experts say that requiring renewable energy in the southeastern United States would drive up costs for customers, because the region is not a good place to produce wind or solar power efficiently.

But environmentalists are concerned about the long schedule being proposed by the PSC staff.

"These targets aren't ambitious enough to drive meaningful investment in renewable energy technology and jobs in Florida," wrote George Cavros in an e-mail for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

He said the target percentages "would be the weakest in the nation. Dead last. Florida deserves better. If you had to grade the targets, you would have to give them an F. Gov. Crist would be 94 before his proposed 20 percent target is realized!"

More than 20 states already have standards, ranging from California, which wants 20 percent renewables by 2010, to Wisconsin, which has a goal of 10 percent by 2015, according to Cavros' research.

Florida Power & Light, whose parent is the largest generator of wind power in the country, says it supports renewable energy in Florida, but has treaded carefully about specifics.

RELIABLE SERVICE

"These new policies should be introduced in the marketplace in a manner that maintains reliable electric service and reasonable electric prices," FPL spokesman Mayco Villafaña told The Miami Herald recently.

To help meet the renewable standards, the PSC staff recommends the creation of a renewable energy credit market, which would allow utilities to purchase credits from producers of renewable energy within the state.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the credit would allow utilities to purchase power from wind farms in Texas or solar generators in Arizona to meet their requirements in Florida.