NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA

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Comment by Faye on January 22, 2009 at 8:55pm

Please forward this to anyone you can / see fit! THANK YOU!

CONFERENCE IN TALLAHASSEE FEBRUARY 3rd, 2009!

The Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy (FARE), with support from the Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) and the Alliance for Renewable Energy (ARE) are pleased to invite you to join us for a discussion on:

Effective Renewable Energy Policies: Stimulating Job Creation, Long Term Investments, and Improving Energy Security

Featuring discussions on Feed in Tariffs, Net Metering, Rebates, and Gainesville, FL., the first municipality in the United States to introduce a Feed in Tariff policy.

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009
12-7 pm in Tallahassee
Doubletree Hotel
101 South Adams Street
Tallahassee, FL 32301
(850) 224-5000

The focus of the conference is the deployment of renewable energy in Florida resulting in jobs and energy security. Experts from around the world and participants from various stakeholder organizations will discuss policies to stimulate vast investment in renewable energy to increase energy security and job creation in Florida. Building on Governor Crist’s vision of 20% renewables by 2020, this event will provide first hand experiences from Florida, other states and European countries on what policies are most effective in achieving renewable targets.

Solar on every rooftop!

Panels will include:
· ‘Lessons from Europe and US States’ – Deployment of successful renewable policies.
· Costs vs. Benefits – The potential opportunity if policies are right.
· What energy policies will drive the market and bring jobs to Florida?
· Florida based implementation.
· Legislative Roundtable.

Key objectives:
· Explore green jobs and long term investments.
· Discuss Renewable Energy Payments, also known as Feed in Tariffs, regarding their significant potential to address climate change, create new jobs and support the renewable energy industry
· Further develop policies that have driven the clean technology markets.
· Update on the Renewable Portfolio Standard rules from the PSC.
· Strengthen and Support legislative initiatives in Florida.
· Explore various levels of initiatives adopted by utilities.
· Build coalitions and network.
· The Gainesville Solar Feed in Tariff.

Who will attend: State legislators, environmental and energy advocates, renewable energy industry representatives,local and state utilities, local government officials interested in green job economic development, nonprofits and foundations committed to a renewable energy future.

Speakers will include: leading environmental organizations, Florida State legislators, investors, renewable energy industry organizations and leading energy companies.

Featuring:
· Gainesville Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan
· Florida State Representative Keith Fitzgerald
· Paul Gipe, Alliance for Renewable Energy
· Toby Couture, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
· Dr. Murray Cameron, Phoenix Solar
· Jerry Karnas, Environmental Defense Fund
· Barry Moline, Florida Municipal Electric Association
· Ed Regan, Gainesville Regional Utilities
· Christy Herig, Solar Electric Power Association
· Jerome Guillet, Head of Energy, Dexia

For registration and hotel info on this event please contact Faye Roller at faye@FAREnergy.org or visit www.FAREnergy.org

Comment by Roy R on December 5, 2008 at 8:40am

Job Creation, Energy Independence, Environmental Stewardship

The energy market has dominated headlines for as long as can be remembered. As we climb our way out of the current economic cycle, new leaders are created and new industries will lead the way back to a strong, robust economy. Those who look to the future of the energy market know that Renewable Energy is an industry that is boiling over with potential. A growing new Renewable Energy industry in Florida will create untold thousands of jobs, collect millions in local tax revenues, and bring us to the forefront of the national stage on energy independence and environmental stewardship.
Renewable Energy Payments are a policy mechanism that have proven to promote the fastest, cheapest, and most widespread growth of Renewable Energy anywhere in the world, with implementation in over 45 countries. Currently at least 8 states in the U.S. are considering a Renewable Energy Payment (also known as Feed in Tariff) policy mechanism. Today the State of Florida is positioning itself ahead of the curve and providing a beacon for the rest of the country to follow by considering this policy mechanism.
A Renewable Energy Payment (REP) provides a fixed contract to the producers of Renewable Energy. The contracts, which are fixed for typically twenty years, afford the producer the ability to borrow against a mandated, guaranteed payment from their utility company. Also, these contracts, which are transparent, simple to understand, and open for inspection, include long-term agreed upon prices that the utility company will pay the producers for the energy it buys. The prices are set high enough to be an incentive to new producers and encourage existing producers to maximize their capacity.
The key components to a proven successful REP model:
• Anyone can access the grid, democratizing the new market and allowing anyone to produce renewable energy.
• All producers will receive a fixed payment, at reasonable rate of return, for a fixed period of time, typically 20 years, for the renewable energy that they produce.
• There is no limit to the amount of renewable energy that can be produced.
• The contracts are transparent and simple to understand.
With these features included in the design, a Renewable Energy Payment policy would create a stable and competitive renewable energy marketplace. Imagine if homes, churches, schools, hospitals, condo associations and ranchers could all install solar, wind and other renewable energy sources on their rooftops or land and then produce energy and sell it to the utilities for profit.... It could completely transform our economic landscape. Floridians are owed the chance to participate in the Renewable Energy market with a level playing field, and Renewable Energy Payments are the single most effective way to make sure this happens.



The key results of a REP market include:

• Job Creation. All levels of jobs are created including high-skilled positions in engineering, manufacturing, agriculture, and electronics. Jobs in banking and finance, breathing life in to a lending industry.

• Stability and Investment Security. REP incentives also have massive appeal to investors and lenders. Unlike Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) which have annually fluctuating values through a trading mechanism, REP incentives never change and never require any administration or additional cost. As long as the RE system is generating electricity it continues to make the system owner a guaranteed return on their investment.

• Stay at home revenue. With REPS, the revenue from producing renewable energy will stay in the county and state where it is produced. This will create "local wealth" and stimulate the local economy.

• Equality. REPs create a level playing field for all different sizes of renewable energy producers. It encourages individuals, small businesses and larger businesses to become renewable energy producers and rewards them all.

• Reduce Carbon Output. Burning fossil fuels releases 75% of the greenhouse gases that are heating the planet. It is estimated that by switching to renewable energy we can cut CO2 emissions in half by 2030.

• Stabilize Energy Costs. Communities that use locally produced renewable energy have more stable energy costs. Once the systems are set up, their renewable fuels such as sun and wind are low cost or free. Overall, energy costs will be more predictable and controllable, creating economic stability.

• Create Energy Security. Renewable energy production will lesson a community’s or nation’s vulnerability to increasing fossil fuel prices and will increase self-reliant economic growth. Those who install renewable energy the soonest will save the most. The costs for renewable energy are expected to decline due to economy of scale and technological progress.





REPs Basic Steps


1. Priority access to the grid over conventional fuel sources [prevents gaming from utilities inhibiting grid access] within [60] days for all systems

2. Purchase guarantee with standard offer contracts (SOC) with the local utility standardized by the Public Service Commission. Contracts shall be 20 years fixed price with an inflation escalator [makes projects financeable with low cost debt versus expensive equity – target should be >70% debt for most technologies]

3. The SOC will be the broadly the same for all system sizes under 20MW – with the intent that the SOC provides a speedy transparent method for a RE producer to sell power to the utility

4. Pricing will be determined by the PSC but would be based on cost plus reasonable profit
a. To mimic the regulatory returns that regulated utilities currently enjoy in Florida for fossil generation projects.
b. Pricing to be differentiated by system size to factor in economies of scale that typically reduce installed costs for larger systems
c. We recommend that the PSC include in its calculation of return all federal ITC and other benefits such as accelerated depreciation.
d. A pricing digression methodology would be employed whereby every [2 years] the PSC can alter prices for new RE producers to factor in changes in costs
e. REPs by utilities for RE would be allowed to be recovered in the normal regulatory adjustment mechanism via a RE surcharge that would be allocated to each customer bill. The surcharge would be allocated by the PSC state wide to ensure that all customers pay for RE not just those customers of any one IOU
















Renewable Energy Payments


REPs are a simple, elegant, and cost-effective mechanism for supporting large-scale RE deployments in aggressive timelines. Germany alone has deployed 12 times the RE as the US since 2001, even though they have 1/7th the population and have ¼ the renewable resources for solar and wind (RE breakdown: 46% wind, 24% biomass, 4% solar). The Germans have already achieved the implementation of RE which accounts for >15% of their total power generation resources.


Germany’s FIT Success Story (through 2007)
1. Total Grid Contribution:
a. Baseline of 6.6% in 2005
b. 15% achieved by 2007
c. New 27% goal by 2020
2. Wind: 20,000+ MW installed (30.5 TWh generated) [45%+ of market]
3. Solar: 5000+ MW installed (US had 250 MW in 2007) [4%+ of market]
4. Biomass: 27% of market
5. Hydro: 24% of market

Approximate Cost in Germany
1. ~$2.80 (USD) a month (price of a loaf of bread)
2. Total Policy Cost of $2.4. B dollars annually
3. Net Policy Benefit of $4.8 B dollars Annually


Benefits of the REP Policy
1. Costs the ratepayers ZERO ($0) if the market does not support
2. REQUIRES NO STATE GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION or tax credit support
3. Incentives are calculated around each RE technology’s cost structure and are adjusted on a set performance schedule
4. Supports all RE technologies equally or can be adjusted for weighted average
5. Will help lower grid electricity prices through widespread adoption of RE into the power mix with low/no fuel input costs over the long term
REP Policies – Overview

1. Florida should immediately begin to increase its proportion of solar and renewable energy. In doing so it will:

• Improve Florida’s energy security by reducing its dependence on imported fossil fuels
• Create a wealth machine from solar and renewable energy. New construction, installation, electrical, manufacturing and finance jobs emerge as we expand on and establish a vibrant solar and renewable industry in Florida
• Improve our environment now and for the future citizens of Florida

2. REPs greatly increase competition in the renewable electricity generating sector in Florida. REPs policies allow everyone to become a solar and renewable energy producer up to 20MW per project, encouraging residential, commercial and larger investment groups to invest in and participate in solar and other renewable energy production. Each producer is allowed to self generate renewable power and sell the power back to their local utility
3. Utilities have hitherto been reluctant to invest the time and resources in building out small scale renewables projects since it adds minimal benefit to their earnings per share. Conversely, smaller renewable projects are best done by households, local community groups (churches/schools), farmers and developers, commercial groups and renewables companies. These policies therefore encourage renewable generation competition, and allow for a more efficient matching of producer and renewable resources. REPs allow a vast deployment of sub 20MW solar and renewable energy projects by providing solar and renewable energy priority access to the transmission grid and requiring that the utilities buy whatever power is produced.
4. Cost – REPs require NO taxation, NO upfront state payments or subsidies; the cost of paying the renewables producers is passed through to all utility customers through the usual PSC rate recovery mechanism. Costs will only rise if these policies are successful in delivering rapid deployment of renewables. Caps can be introduced to manage the desired growth.
5. Market mechanism – the state policy framework allows the private sector and market forces to work and invest; unlike renewable energy credits, there is no need for any state administration.
6. The solar and renewable energy REPs policy requires that all solar and renewable energy generating technologies are part of the solution. It is required that all renewable energy technologies as defined in [section 366.91] Florida Statutes, become part of the comprehensive REPs policy.







Recent REP Headlines

Nov. 18th Rep. Law introduces a feed in style renewable energy project in Michigan

Nov. 12th Gainesville Moves Forward on Feed-in Tariff

Nov. 7th. "Nov 4th" was a great day for Renewable Energy

Oct. 20th: Florida conference looks at German solar experience

Minnesota Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariff Bill

Illinois: Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff Introduced in House of Representatives

Feed-in Tariff for California First

Germany sets shining example in providing a harvest for the world

Solar World expands in Orgeon

Comment by Faye on November 29, 2008 at 10:47pm

Please visit www.FAREnergy.org - The Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy would like to make Florida a leader in solar energy. Since 1991, Germany, Spain, Denmark, and over 40 other nations, states, and provinces, have pioneered legislation that have proven to promote the fastest, cheapest, and widest growth of renewable energy. In many of these countries these policies are called "Feed-In Tariffs" (FITs). Producers of renewable energy are paid a premium rate or "tariff" for each kilowatt of energy they "feed into" the grid. Here in North America FITs are being called, "Renewable Energy Payments" (REPs). The name has changed but the fundamental principles of these policies stay the same:
Everyone who produces renewable energy is guaranteed that they can connect to the power grid and sell their energy to their utility company. There is no limit to the amount of renewable energy that can be sold to utility companies.
Utility companies sign 15-20 year contracts with all their renewable energy producers. All contracts are transparent and open for inspection.

The contracts include long-term agreed upon prices that the utility companies will pay for the energy they buy. The prices are set high enough to be an incentive to new producers and for existing producers to expand their production capacities. Prices vary according to the source of the energy (i.e, sun, wind, water, bio-mass, etc.) and the size of the energy-producing installation.

The utility companies can recoup their increased costs of paying higher prices for renewable energy by spreading these costs among all their customers.

An Independent Review Board is established by the government that periodically sets the prices and terms for new contracts.

How do REPs work?

Renewable Energy Payments are the mechanisms or instruments at the heart of specific state, provincial or national renewable energy policies. REPs are incentives for homeowners, farmers, businesses, etc., to become producers of renewable energy, or to increase their production of renewable energy. As such, they increase our overall production and use of renewable energy, and decrease our consumption and burning of fossil fuels.

Thank you! Happy Holidays!

Faye Roller - Administartive Director
Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy
1-888-501-FARE
www.FAREnergy.org

Comment by Roy R on September 12, 2008 at 9:25am

Dear Governor Crist,

I am writing in hopes that you will give a strong recommendation to the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) to adopt Renewable Energy Payments (REP’s) also know as Feed-In Tariffs. REP’s are the best policy mechanism for our renewable energy future.

As you know, the FPSC is currently pursuing a policy focused on Renewable Energy Credits (REC’s). REC’s have proven to significantly limit the renewable energy market expansion. REC’s have caused once prosperous, growing renewable energy industries to collapse. A policy based on REC’s create the conditions for a few shrewd, out-of-state companies to build large, central power plants with Florida rate payers’ money. This would capture the vast majority of these REC’s for their own use. Once completed, they will have established a monopoly and leave Florida. REC’s are expensive, complicated, and require significant resources to deal with.

As a resident and energy rate paying citizen of Florida, I urge you to recommend the proven policy of Renewable Energy Payments. This policy will create thousands of new, high paying, secure jobs. REC’s will not. We need to create energy security and permit all Florida citizens the ability to become independent energy producers through distributed solar power. The benefits to Renewable Energy Payments (REP’s) are extensive:

• Less costly
• Easily administered
• Easily understood
• Utilized throughout the world

Florida is the “Sunshine State” and is positioned to be the leader in solar energy production, paving the way for others to follow by example. As the Governor of this great state, please take action now on our renewable energy policy. Let’s create jobs in Florida, stimu¬late the growth of Florida’s economy, help Florida achieve energy independence, and save our planet for future generations. A policy based on Renewable Energy Payments will make this happen. Just ask the rest of the world using it.

Thank You for Your Support,

Your Name Here

Comment by Getulio Bastos on August 28, 2008 at 3:05pm

Gentlemen,

This is a letter I just sent to Congressman Ron Klein of West Palm Beach and Florida Senator Bill Nelson. I suggest that all of our members do something similar to provoke some reaction from our politicians.

Mr. Bill Nelson,

Florida is one of the worst hit states in the Real Estate crisis. Our tourism industry is being hit tremendously by the gasoline price hikes. And our state is one of the least served with alternative forms of energy. But we can do something about it and one of the things we can do is to facilitate the creation of an infrastructure to sell, install conversion kits in our cars and distribute natural gas within our region.

There are entrepreneurs interested in creating this infrastructure, but the major obstacle is EPA, which has no scientific reason to keep their antique regulations for the conversion of our cars to use natural gas in our roads. There are no technology barriers at all.

It would save our taxpayers a lot of money in the near future while providing for a new source of employment for thousands of Floridians in a brand new industry. In training of new mechanics, installation of conversion kits, installation of natural gas filling stations, distribution of natural gas across the state and maintenance of it all.

There’s a Bill going through Congress now, entitled “THE DRIVE AMERICA ON NATURAL GAS ACT OF 2008” introduced by Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma.

If you need to research more about it, please visit www.push.pickensplan.com. Please, click here if you want to see the reactions to my discussion Brazil is 100% oil independent. Why aren't we?.

While there you can also see several pictures and videos related to the usage of natural gas as a vehicle propulsion energy both in Brazil and the US.

As a citizen I urge you to support this Bill to pass and provide easier means for our people to expend less on their cars while creating a new industry for the state of Florida.

Your voter,

Getulio Bastos

Click here to send your message to Senator Bill Nelson
Click here to send your message to Congressman Ron Klein

...

Comment by Vaughn & Tabitha Burnham on July 18, 2008 at 7:00pm

Citizens of North Central Florida concered about the high of energy. We (our nation as a whole) needs help.

Comment by Bill Mollring on July 18, 2008 at 6:58pm

Thank you for starting this site. I am very interested in seeing how alternative energy ideas develop across the country. Please include me on your updates and notices. I wish you much success. We are listed on the Pickens Plan as Mariah Power.
I invite you to join our group for updates on the Windspire and
other alternative energy items and ideas.
http://www.push.pickensplan.com/group/mariahpower
To see our other alternative energy sources please go to:
http://www.emsystems.net
Aloha, Bill