The Sunshine State is Missing a Sunny Opportunity

[BridgeTroll]

SPOT looks to be the beginnigs of a fruitful partnership between "Big solar" and the utilities.  I heartily support this type of partnership.  The utility and solar industry that figures out the right partnership will become the standard throughout the country.  I suggest adding companies like GE to the mix.  Think of the money to be made.  No more purchasing oil, coal or gas.  GE develops the turbines and hardware(still have to convert steam into volts), solar industry figures out best way to capture the sun, utilities provide and support infrastructure.  I believe it will happen... hell it is happening...  I can even support gentle nudges from government in the form of incentives and tax breaks.

[FayeforCure]

SPOT looks to be the beginnigs of a fruitful partnership between "Big solar" and the utilities.  I heartily support this type of partnership.  The utility and solar industry that figures out the right partnership will become the standard throughout the country.  I suggest adding companies like GE to the mix.  Think of the money to be made.  No more purchasing oil, coal or gas.  GE develops the turbines and hardware(still have to convert steam into volts), solar industry figures out best way to capture the sun, utilities provide and support infrastructure.  I believe it will happen... hell it is happening...  I can even support gentle nudges from government in the form of incentives and tax breaks.

Yup, and how is the government hands-off appraoch looking for the US?

Germany and China are racing ahead, while the US is left behind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dog Walker]

Government has never been "hands off" to a power utility.  Many of them, like ours, are units of government.  Do you have a monopoly on the provision of power to a region?  JEA does.  Do you have the right to issue guaranteed bonds?  Florida Power does.

A change in direction to favor alternative sources of power is a policy decision and with one exception, we are way behind in this country making a policy shift.  The exception happens to be the one utility in the US that is following the successful model of the European countries.  It is our own Gainesville Regional Utilities that has instituted the first feed-in-tariff or FIT in the US.  GRU is going to have, in a few years, an additional twenty megawatts of power generation capability for NO capital or bonding costs to itself.

[FayeforCure]

Government has never been "hands off" to a power utility.  Many of them, like ours, are units of government.  Do you have a monopoly on the provision of power to a region?  JEA does.  Do you have the right to issue guaranteed bonds?  Florida Power does.

A change in direction to favor alternative sources of power is a policy decision and with one exception, we are way behind in this country making a policy shift.  The exception happens to be the one utility in the US that is following the successful model of the European countries.  It is our own Gainesville Regional Utilities that has instituted the first feed-in-tariff or FIT in the US.  GRU is going to have, in a few years, an additional twenty megawatts of power generation capability for NO capital or bonding costs to itself.

Gainesville policy decisions are Democrat dominated. Democrats are progressive, forward thinking and less beholden to Big Oil. They very much believe in the power of government to shape forward thinking policies.

Unfortunately Jacksonville Republican policies are regressive or "conservative" and don't help us move forward.

[FayeforCure]

The most progressive mayor weve ever had is Republican Mayor John Delaney.

This is true. I only have a cursory knowledge of Jax politics, from the 7 years I've lived in St Johns county. But Gainesville forward thinking is well-known and heavily influenced by its Democratic leadership.

[FayeforCure]

I guess John Mica doesn't want Florida to reap the opportunities that SUNSHINE presents for us:

John Mica voted NO to the Solar Technology Roadmap Act on 10/22/2009

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=807&chamber=H&congress=1111

Even among Florida's Republican Congressmen he is out of touch, as you can see when you click on Florida in the map:

9 Republicans said YES
10 Democrats said YES
6 Republicans NO

Crazy out of touch among our 25 Florida Congressmen!!!

[kellypope]

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Check this one out: http://www.news4jax.com/news/21406307/detail.html?taf=jax

Fla. Shines With Largest US Solar Plant
CHRISTINE ARMARIO, Associated Press Writer
POSTED: Friday, October 23, 2009
UPDATED: 7:16 pm EDT October 23, 2009

ARCADIA, Florida -- Greg Bove steps into his pickup truck and drives down a sandy path to where the future of Florida's renewable energy plans begin: Acres of open land filled with solar panels that will soon power thousands of homes and business.
For nearly a year, construction workers and engineers in this sleepy Florida town of citrus trees and cattle farms have been building the nation's largest solar panel energy plant. Testing will soon be complete, and the facility will begin directly converting sunlight into energy, giving Florida a momentary spot in the solar energy limelight.
The Desoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center will power a small fraction of Florida Power & Light's 4-million plus customer base; nevertheless, at 25 megawatts, it will generate nearly twice as much energy as the second-largest photovoltaic facility in the U.S.
The White House said President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit the facility Tuesday, when it officially goes online and begins producing power for the electric grid.
As demand grows and more states create mandates requiring a certain percentage of their energy come from renewable sources, the size of the plants is increasing. The southwest Florida facility will soon be eclipsed by larger projects announced in Nevada and California.
"We took a chance at it and it worked out," said Bove, construction manager at the project, set on about 180 acres of land 80 miles southeast of Tampa. "There's a lot of backyard projects, there's a lot of rooftop projects, post offices and stores. Really this is one of the first times where we've taken a technology and upsized it."
Despite its nickname, the Sunshine State hasn't been at the forefront of solar power. Less than 4 percent of Florida's energy has come from renewable sources in recent years. And unlike California and many other states, Florida lawmakers haven't agreed to setting clean energy quotas for electric companies to reach in the years ahead.
California, New Jersey and Colorado have led the U.S. in installing photovoltaic systems; now Florida is set to jump closer to the top with the nation's largest plant yet.
The Desoto facility and two other solar projects Florida Power & Light is spearheading will generate 110 megawatts of power, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by more than 3.5 million tons. Combined, that's the equivalent of taking 25,000 cars off the road each year, according to figures cited by the company.
The investment isn't cheap: The Desoto project cost $150 million to build and the power it supplies to some 3,000 homes and businesses will represent just a sliver of the 4 million-plus accounts served by the state's largest electric utility.
But there are some economic benefits: It created 400 jobs for draftsmen, carpenters and others whose work dried up as the southwest Florida housing boom came to a closure and the recession set in. Once running, it will require few full-time employees.
Mike Taylor, director of research and education at the nonprofit Solar Electric Power Association in Washington, said the project puts Florida "on the map."
"It's currently the largest," Taylor said of the Desoto photovoltaic plant. "But it certainly won't be the last."
There are two means of producing electricity from the sun: photovoltaic cells that directly convert sunlight; and thermal power, which uses mirrors to heat fluid and produce steam to run a turbine power generator.
Taylor said a one- or two-megawatt project was considered large not long ago. The size has slowly increased each year.
Overall, the United States still trails other nations in building photovoltaic plants.
Spain and Germany have made larger per capita commitments to solar power because of aggressive government policies, said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. And China has announced plans to pay up to 50 percent of the price of solar power systems of more than 500 megawatts.
"If we don't get our market right and send the right market signals and really support growing this technology, we will be buying solar panels from other countries," Smith said.
In April, Arizona-based manufacturer First Solar Inc. announced plans to build a 48-megawatt plant in Nevada, producing power for about 30,000 homes. Even that pales compared to recently announced plans for a 2 gigawatt facility in China. First Solar has initial approval to build it.

[civil42806]

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Check this one out: http://www.news4jax.com/news/21406307/detail.html?taf=jax

Fla. Shines With Largest US Solar Plant
CHRISTINE ARMARIO, Associated Press Writer
POSTED: Friday, October 23, 2009
UPDATED: 7:16 pm EDT October 23, 2009

ARCADIA, Florida -- Greg Bove steps into his pickup truck and drives down a sandy path to where the future of Florida's renewable energy plans begin: Acres of open land filled with solar panels that will soon power thousands of homes and business.
For nearly a year, construction workers and engineers in this sleepy Florida town of citrus trees and cattle farms have been building the nation's largest solar panel energy plant. Testing will soon be complete, and the facility will begin directly converting sunlight into energy, giving Florida a momentary spot in the solar energy limelight.
The Desoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center will power a small fraction of Florida Power & Light's 4-million plus customer base; nevertheless, at 25 megawatts, it will generate nearly twice as much energy as the second-largest photovoltaic facility in the U.S.
The White House said President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit the facility Tuesday, when it officially goes online and begins producing power for the electric grid.
As demand grows and more states create mandates requiring a certain percentage of their energy come from renewable sources, the size of the plants is increasing. The southwest Florida facility will soon be eclipsed by larger projects announced in Nevada and California.
"We took a chance at it and it worked out," said Bove, construction manager at the project, set on about 180 acres of land 80 miles southeast of Tampa. "There's a lot of backyard projects, there's a lot of rooftop projects, post offices and stores. Really this is one of the first times where we've taken a technology and upsized it."
Despite its nickname, the Sunshine State hasn't been at the forefront of solar power. Less than 4 percent of Florida's energy has come from renewable sources in recent years. And unlike California and many other states, Florida lawmakers haven't agreed to setting clean energy quotas for electric companies to reach in the years ahead.
California, New Jersey and Colorado have led the U.S. in installing photovoltaic systems; now Florida is set to jump closer to the top with the nation's largest plant yet.
The Desoto facility and two other solar projects Florida Power & Light is spearheading will generate 110 megawatts of power, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by more than 3.5 million tons. Combined, that's the equivalent of taking 25,000 cars off the road each year, according to figures cited by the company.
The investment isn't cheap: The Desoto project cost $150 million to build and the power it supplies to some 3,000 homes and businesses will represent just a sliver of the 4 million-plus accounts served by the state's largest electric utility.
But there are some economic benefits: It created 400 jobs for draftsmen, carpenters and others whose work dried up as the southwest Florida housing boom came to a closure and the recession set in. Once running, it will require few full-time employees.
Mike Taylor, director of research and education at the nonprofit Solar Electric Power Association in Washington, said the project puts Florida "on the map."
"It's currently the largest," Taylor said of the Desoto photovoltaic plant. "But it certainly won't be the last."
There are two means of producing electricity from the sun: photovoltaic cells that directly convert sunlight; and thermal power, which uses mirrors to heat fluid and produce steam to run a turbine power generator.
Taylor said a one- or two-megawatt project was considered large not long ago. The size has slowly increased each year.
Overall, the United States still trails other nations in building photovoltaic plants.
Spain and Germany have made larger per capita commitments to solar power because of aggressive government policies, said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. And China has announced plans to pay up to 50 percent of the price of solar power systems of more than 500 megawatts.
"If we don't get our market right and send the right market signals and really support growing this technology, we will be buying solar panels from other countries," Smith said.
In April, Arizona-based manufacturer First Solar Inc. announced plans to build a 48-megawatt plant in Nevada, producing power for about 30,000 homes. Even that pales compared to recently announced plans for a 2 gigawatt facility in China. First Solar has initial approval to build it.

Best of luck with that, has he cleared all the environmental lawsuites yet? 

[kellypope]

I have no idea--just passing along what's out there.

[mtraininjax]

The most progressive mayor weve ever had is Republican Mayor John Delaney.

I don't know if that was exactly true now. Was Delaney just a product of rising property values during a period of economic prosperity? Or was he really as good as we all think he was? Could you plug Peyton into the same period and get the same results, would Delaney have had as many challenges as Peyton in a down economy?

A good argument for sure.

[Captain Zissou]

Could you plug Peyton into the same period and get the same results, would Delaney have had as many challenges as Peyton in a down economy?

A good argument for sure.

Delaney would face the same problems, but I feel like he would have handled them much better.  Delaney produced a comprehensive plan that the city (populace and government) stood behind, which gave us some of the wonderful structures we enjoy today.  Peyton has just drawn up pretty pictures of plans that no one supports (harbourtown...) or railroaded in stuff we don't need (main street pocket park).  The courthouse should still be credited to Delaney, he drove the ball 85 yards down the field, peyton just hobbled it into the end zone.

[FayeforCure]

Kellypope, thanks so much for posting the article:

Less than 4 percent of Florida's energy has come from renewable sources in recent years. And unlike California and many other states, Florida lawmakers haven't agreed to setting clean energy quotas for electric companies to reach in the years ahead.

California, New Jersey and Colorado have led the U.S. in installing photovoltaic systems; now Florida is set to jump closer to the top with the nation's largest plant yet.

The Desoto facility and two other solar projects Florida Power & Light is spearheading will generate 110 megawatts of power, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by more than 3.5 million tons. Combined, that's the equivalent of taking 25,000 cars off the road each year, according to figures cited by the company.

The investment isn't cheap: The Desoto project cost $150 million to build and the power it supplies to some 3,000 homes and businesses will represent just a sliver of the 4 million-plus accounts served by the state's largest electric utility.

But there are some economic benefits: It created 400 jobs for draftsmen, carpenters and others whose work dried up as the southwest Florida housing boom came to a closure and the recession set in. Once running, it will require few full-time employees.

Sounds like an excellent investment of stimulous monies,.........I wonder how much federal money might be available to subsidize this.

Florida lawmakers are always behind the times, because even though they are themselves government, they believe in less government rather than BETTER government. I guess a Do-nothing government qualifies as less government, but why even bother being in government in the first place?

[mtraininjax]

Delaney, he drove the ball 85 yards down the field, peyton just hobbled it into the end zone.

Delaney was MORE creative in the BJP, which is really his legacy. River City Renaissance was OK, but it did not really drive the projects that the BJP did and has left a more lasting legacy. Peyton's book program has been a good success, but he stopped at the books and did not take it to the next level, into the middle schools and high schools. Maybe he hoped the DCSB would take it and run with it. I dunno.

Peyton is surely missing the opportunity for growth in Jacksonville. Lobbying for funds for a solar park would be a great step in a direction that will take a long time, but it would produce a lasting impression that his 8 years were not for nothing.