Solar power: Sunshine State isn't living up to its name

Solar power: Sunshine State isn't living up to its name

In 1970, the year Florida officially adopted the nickname "Sunshine State," there was not one power plant from Miami to the Panhandle that harnessed the sun's powerful rays to generate electricity.

Thirty years later, Florida's production of solar energy and other renewable sources has grown to — hold your breath — 1.8 percent of the state's total electricity generation.

Florida is moving at a glacial pace toward an electricity system that shifts us away from polluting fossil fuels. And that's bad news for our health and economy.

Most of the electricity we use in Florida to light our homes and cool our offices comes primarily from coal and natural gas.

Burning these fossil fuels to generate energy pollutes our air, water and land. It also pumps tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, leading to global warming and a changing climate here at home.

According to a team of university researchers from the Southeast — including scientists from the University of Florida, University of South Florida and University of Miami — an altered climate already has caused sea levels to rise and beaches to erode.

In the future, it threatens Florida's vital agriculture, forestry and tourism industries. Clearly, this is not some minor environmental concern, like choosing between paper or plastic bags at the grocery store. The way we produce energy is having a profound impact on the very character of our state.

Florida can and must do better. Modern technologies like solar power can transform the ever-present energy around us into usable forms. The movement of wind and water, the heat and light of the sun, heat in the ground, the carbohydrates in plants — all are natural energy sources that can supply our electrical needs in a sustainable way. And because they are homegrown, these technologies can also protect our energy system from outside disruptions and create local jobs.

A new study from the Union of Concerned Scientists finds that Florida has the potential to produce more than 30 percent of its electricity from solar power and other renewable sources. Yet the group also gave the state a failing grade for not only abandoning homegrown renewable energy today, but also neglecting to pass any legislative proposals that would promote even a kilowatt of clean electricity during the next 15 years.

Most of the renewable energy produced today in Florida — and remember, this is just a drop in the overall electricity bucket — comes from biomass waste, things like wood and the dry pulp from processing sugar cane.

In a state with more than 300 days of sunshine, Florida should be generating most of its renewable energy from solar power, which could alone supply 22 percent of the state's energy needs.

So who will lead the drive for a 21st-century energy system in Florida? If past is prologue, not the Legislature or the governor, both of whom have ignored any real action to promote renewable energy. It falls then to our congressional leaders — in particular Sens. Bob Graham and Bill Nelson — to support national legislation that creates a renewable energy standard across the country.

Studies by the federal government have shown that setting a national standard of 20 percent by 2020 is feasible and affordable. Even a more modest standard of 10 percent would save Florida consumers more than $90 million on their energy bills over the life of the program.

Think of it like this: If you're an investor, what's the first thing you are always told? Diversify.

The same is true when it comes to our electricity system. It's time for the Sunshine State to live up to its name and plug in to renewable energy.

Susan Glickman is with the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. A Florida native, she serves on the board of the Florida Conservation Alliance Institute. Contact her at susan.glickman@verizon.net.