Pickens South Florida

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Comment by Leslie G. on June 20, 2009 at 9:09am

Tom Weber: Turbines would be boon to St. Lucie County economy
By Tom Weber (Contact)
Saturday, June 20, 2009
article

Comment by Leslie G. on June 20, 2009 at 9:02am

Project Information
If approved by the St. Lucie County Board of
Commissioners, the St. Lucie wind energy project would be the first wind project in Florida.
The project would consist of up to six wind turbines built entirely on FPL property.
The project represents the addition of emissions-free, clean energy today and for future generations in the state of Florida.


View all project news, maps & images

Comment by david epps on June 5, 2009 at 12:44pm

<<Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that Florida Power & Light Co. could impose fees and penalties against the agency and others for unreserved transmissions through FPL lines>>

There you go the meddling in states affairs by the federal government has cost you money. WAIT FOR IT MORE IS COMING!!!!

Comment by Leslie G. on June 5, 2009 at 12:36pm

Vero Beach electric rates zoom by 18 percent
June 5, 2009
City electric customers should prepare for a jolt when they open their bills this month as the result of an 18 percent rate increase.

The rate hike comes on a heels of a 3 percent rate increase the previous month and is much higher than officials estimated as late as the first half of May.

For a customer using 2,000 kilowatts per month, the increase will amount to about $40 and bring the total bill to about $325, not including a 2.5 percent Florida gross receipts tax and the 6 percent Indian River County fee charged to county customers of the city’s utility.

The higher rates are expected to continue through the rest of the year; after that, city officials are hoping costs drop significantly as they switch to a new power provider.

City officials are blaming higher than expected fuel costs from its current power supplier, a cooperative of 15 cities including Vero Beach who belong to the Florida Municipal Power Agency. Also being blamed for some of the extra costs is a ruling last year by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that Florida Power & Light Co. could impose fees and penalties against the agency and others for unreserved transmissions through FPL lines.

The ruling also said the charges could be imposed retroactively to July 2007, resulting in an additional $6 million charge against the cooperative.

Comment by Ted Wallace on May 26, 2009 at 7:32am

It was another missed opportunity and there will be many more. The average citizen just doesn't care and never will. They'll vote and act on their wallet every time.
“the more the green movement transforms into a movement for economic opportunity, the more it will look like America.” We believe in that credo, and have practiced it for years.
Gerald Torres
Kathleen Rogers
Washington, March 11, 2009
The writers are, respectively, chairman and president of the Earth Day Network
We need to think and act more like Pres Obama. We know what we want and we're pretty sure it's best but we have to accept progress will be mean accomadating a lot of people who think otherwise.
If we build it first and it makes sense they'll come running but trying to mandate the whole thing from the top down is a stretch.
The PickensPlan is about the Smartgrid, CNG and windpower. Stick with that and we have a winner. We can make a huge difference but it won't be easy.

Comment by Anturuan on May 26, 2009 at 5:30am

FYI my fellow FL Pickens Plan Members!!!

Posted on Tue, May. 26, 2009
Florida's plan for renewables was a lot of wasted energy
BY JOHN DORSCHNER
jdorschner@MiamiHerald.com

For a year, while the green movement was at its height, Florida environmentalists, new solar companies, utility lobbyists and state regulators spent thousands of hours trying to determine how much of the state's power supply should come from renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
They did it because the Legislature in 2008 ordered them to do it. After sifting through thousands of pages of documents and sitting in lengthy workshops, the Public Service Commission sent its recommendations to the 2009 Legislature. A renewable-energy bill passed the Senate but died in the House. The result: A year of work wasted.

Among the major victims: The ballyhooed Babcock Ranch project, which is trying to become the first solar-powered city in the world, and thousands of construction workers who would have been hired to build new power plants.

''We are extremely disappointed,'' said Stephen Smith, head of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. ``The people of Florida should feel cheated by their legislative leadership.''

In the final days of the Legislature, the drama became intense. Gov. Charlie Crist at one point visited the House to plead for a renewable standard. When that failed, a major renewable-energy producer, Florida Crystals, turned against Florida Power & Light, which was trying to craft its own solar deal. That deal died.

The renewable saga began in July 2007 when Crist asked the Public Service Commission to develop rules to make power companies produce 20 percent of their electricity from renewables to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At least 25 states already have such standards.

The PSC held four workshops in 2007 attended by major environmentalists and utility representatives.

The issues were complex. Would solar and wind power cost customers more? Yes, probably, said the experts. How much more? The experts weren't certain. The PSC didn't come to any conclusions, and neither did the 2008 Legislature, which debated the issue at length and then ordered the PSC to study the matter again.

Three more workshops were held. The PSC commissioned a study on the costs and potential for renewables from the Navigant consulting firm, which produced a 200-plus-page document at a cost of $135,000.

FPL sparked intense debate by insisting that, instead of a renewable standard, nuclear power should be considered in a ''clean energy'' standard because nuclear can produce huge amounts of power while emiting no greenhouse gases. Environmentalists objected, saying huge nuclear plants would eliminate any need for solar, which they much preferred.

The commission sent a 167-page report to the Legislature recommending that by 2020, 20 percent of power come from renewables, as long as it didn't increase customers' bills more than 2 percent a year. The report said the Legislature ''may wish to consider'' adding nuclear to the standard.

In the Senate, Sen. Jim King crafted a compromise bill that included nuclear, but only up to five percentage points of the 20 percent standard. Environmentalists didn't like the nuclear provision, but King told environmental activist Susan Glickman that it was the only way to get it to pass.

''He did a masterful job,'' said Gaston Cantens of Florida Crystals, which produces power from sugar cane waste. ``Not everyone liked everything in it, but it had just enough of what people wanted so nobody was really upset.''

The bill stalled in the House, which was somewhat disorganized after the indictment of former speaker Ray Sansom, said Glickman. 'They'd say, `The House doesn't have any appetite for this.' 'We did energy last year.' ''

Florida Power & Light publicly supported a renewable standard, particularly if it included nuclear, but others weren't so sure of what the utilities really wanted. Florida Crystals lobbyist Sean Stafford said the big utilities made ''public pronouncements'' that favored renewables, ''but I never saw the private heavy lifting'' by their many lobbyists to get a bill passed.

Ultimately, House leaders added offshore drilling to an energy bill, guaranteeing that environmentalists would oppose it. ''On the last day of the session, the governor physically came down to the House and pushed very hard'' for a renewables bill, said Glickman.

Meanwhile, FPL tried a separate maneuver, attaching a rider to a large spending bill that would have given it full cost recovery for several of its solar projects, including the world's largest photovoltaic power plant for the new city of Babcock Ranch, 17,000 acres near Fort Myers.

FPL supports solar projects as long as its costs can be completely recovered from its customers. It has three solar projects already under way because of an earlier arrangement from the Legislature.

But this time, renewable-energy groups and other entities were upset that FPL was getting a solar deal while they got nothing. Florida Crystals sent lobbyist Sean Stafford to talk to a Senate leader. The FPL deal died. Stafford, lobbyist Glickman and Crystals spokesman Cantens all confirm this story.

FPL spokeswoman Jackie Anderson said, ``We were obviously disappointed that the Legislature did not carry forward . . . the development of renewable energy in Florida.''

Anderson pointed out that construction of clean-energy plants can boost the economy. ``For example, the 75-megawatt solar thermal facility we are building in Martin County will generate more than 1,000 construction jobs, and a recent job fair to fill these positions brought in more than 8,000 applicants. . . .

``The Babcock Ranch solar project would bring additional renewable energy, more than 400 jobs and significant economic benefits to the state. We would like to move forward on the project. . . and will move forward when the necessary regulatory framework is in place.''

Developer Syd Kitson said he is continuing his plans for Babcock Ranch. ''We're hopeful of starting construction next year,'' he said, and he still wants the city to be solar powered. That means action by the Legislature. ``It's not hurting us at the moment, but it's important we do get action.''

Comment by TheEarthisNotFlat on May 3, 2009 at 10:40am

Amnesty America podcast is now live

Comment by JD Polk on April 23, 2009 at 6:58am

ENERGY MATTERS
Renewable energy. Energy-efficient homes. Green vehicles. It’s all about energy.
Making Solar Electricity Affordable
2/24/2009 12:36:38 PM
By Dan Chiras
Tags: energy efficiency, solar panels, Dan Chiras
Many people who are contemplating installing solar electric systems on their homes struggle with the high initial costs.
To pay for a system, they either have to dip into their savings or take out a loan.
A 3- to 5-kW grid-connected solar system, suitable for most homes, can run $30,000 to $50,000.
Even with recent legislation that provides a 30 percent tax credit for solar and wind systems for homes and businesses,
the cost of such as system will still cost $21,000 to $30,000, which is a substantial piece of change.
Isn’t there some way to reduce this cost?
There is. It's called efficiency.
Richard Perez, founder of Home Power magazine, ran the numbers.
He found that every dollar invested in energy efficiency could reduce the cost of a photovoltaic (PV) system by $3 to $5.
How?
By reducing the size of a system one must install to meet his or her needs.
The economic savings from efficiency are quite substantial. For instance,
a $2,000 investment in home energy efficiency — for example, weatherization, insulation and energy-efficient compact fluorescent or
LED light bulbs — will reduce the demand for electricity. This, in turn, will reduce the size of the PV system required to meet one’s needs.
It could easily save $6,000 to $10,000 on the cost of the system of a 3- to 5-kW PV system before tax incentives.
Taking into account the 30% federal tax credit, the savings would be $4,200 to $7,000.
Spend a little more on efficiency and the cost of the system drops even more. If you invested $4,000 in efficiency,
the total system cost would decline by $12,000 to $20,000.
Taking into account the federal tax credits once again and the decrease in initial cost would be $8,400 to $14,000.
That’s not a bad return on an investment in efficiency.
Instead of spending $21,000 to $30,000 for a system, you’d pay $12,600 to $16,000.
So, if you're thinking about installing a PV system, think efficiency first. It’s a gift you give yourself and the planet.
It will reduce energy demand, reduce pollution, and reduce the cost of a system substantially.
Moreover, the savings will provide dividends for the life of the house.

Comment by Booneradio.com on April 21, 2009 at 8:41am

I created the largest freelance writing network in the world and we need Pickens Plan Army Bloggers. Paid Positions Available.
Hurry Up and apply >> The Pickens Plan Army Bloggers Continue

Comment by Leslie G. on April 20, 2009 at 2:42pm

GE, Cisco and Others Team with Miami for $200M Smart Grid Project
By GreenBiz Staff
Published April 20, 2009

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