Solar disarray (Florida)

[ensho]

http://www.ocala.com/article/20090627/OPINION/906271011/1008/OPINION?Title=Solar-disarray


As a blazing sun bore down this week, Florida got a sweltering reminder of true solar power.

With the intensity and frequency of its sunshine, Florida should be a world leader in harnessing this potent form of renewable energy.

Yet, the state has only a handful of commercial solar arrays, offers a paltry $5 million rebate program and serves merely as a conduit for federal stimulus funds targeted to renewable energy projects.

Despite good goals set by Gov. Charlie Crist, Florida has done too little to increase the use and generation of solar power or to encourage businesses or jobs in developing, supplying or installing the equipment.

Meanwhile, California's Solar Initiative boasts a $2 billion budget to finance incentives. Arizona and Nevada also offer generous incentives for solar installations. Even New Jersey has surpassed Florida by making solar systems tax-exempt and providing loans and rebates to support installations.

The Florida Legislature had an opportunity in this year's session to move the state forward in the promotion of renewable energy. Crist's call to require electric utilities to generate 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020 was part of an energy bill that passed in the Senate. But the House never took up energy legislation, citing a need to focus on the budget.

Yet, the House found time, in the closing days of the session, to pass a bill to allow offshore oil and gas drilling as close as three miles from Florida's Gulf Coast. Fortunately, the Senate refused to consider it.
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neo con oil/nuke Barons own Fl.

[glowing]

1. But if we have solar, how do we justify building two new nuke plants and spend

billions of dollars of state and fed money to private contractors (you know the campaign donors.. Charlie's running for senate.)

[mithnanthy]

2. There is a huge solar farm planned for Florida.

I'm trying to locate the newspaper article that recently described the World's largest solar farm that is planned for an area near Port Charlotte on the West Coast of Florida. I was very excited to see such a project here.....now I can't find it....damn.

[mithnanthy]

3. I found this at Google

Go to TreeHugger.com. An article from 7/14/08 tells of the World's first solar powered city, planned for Florida. I Googled "World's largest solar farm planned for Florida"...and came up with more info.