Page 60 - October 2015 Green Builder Magazine
P. 60

CODE WATCH                                                                                                     By Mike Collignon

    The Latest on Green-Related Construction Rules and Regulations

58

    The Battle Over Solar in the
    Sunshine State

    The State of Florida cuts solar rebate programs and lowers
    energy efficiency goals. Can regional and citizen-based efforts
    make up the difference?

    Florida’s tourism industry loves to boast of
                its year-round abundance of warm sun-
                shine—and they should; there’s plenty to
                go around. However, when it comes to
    solar power, Florida utilities only source one per-
    cent of their electricity from solar. Furthermore,
    the state is going to stop helping its residents
    get this clean source of energy as of January 1,
    2016. This is just another step in the state’s larger
    movement away from renewables and energy ef-
    ficiency. Fortunately, a combination of county,
    local and citizen-based efforts are trying to make
    solar power’s future a little brighter.
www.greenbuildermedia.com 10.2015
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                CREDIT: TROY KRYDER
    FLORIDA BACKPEDALS                                       Going Big. The number of large, utility-scale solar installations in Florida, such as
                                                             this one at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, has been increasing.
    In late November 2014, the state’s Public Ser-
    vice Commission (PSC) voted 3-2 in favor of a            THE CONSUMER EFFECT                                   Tampa Electric was offering a $1,000 rebate for
    utility-backed proposal to eliminate solar rebate                                                              solar water heating systems. The program was
    programs by the end of 2015 and lowered the              Meanwhile, consumers won’t see a big difference       set to expire at the end of 2015. In February 2015,
    state’s energy efficiency goals by more than 90          in their wallet. Depending on their utility, con-     they had stopped accepting applications and the
    percent. This was decided after a very lengthy           sumers will see their bill reduced by anywhere        money was exhausted by mid-June, 2015.
    debate that lasted almost two hours. The utilities       from $0.16/month to $1.94/month. However, in
    lobbied that the energy efficiency programs were         looking deeper at those numbers, the savings are         In the absence of the state programs, coun-
    not cost effective and claimed that it’s less expen-     generated by lower fuel prices, which the utilities   ties and local governments have stepped up
    sive for them to produce a kilowatt of electricity       do not control nor from which they profit. If fuel    their efforts to promote energy efficiency. Ac-
    than it is to save one. At one point, it was even        prices rise, those savings would evaporate and        cording to a review of the Database of State
    suggested that it was more cost effective to tear        consumers could see an increase in their bills.       Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE),
    down the coal-fired plants and build natural gas         Sadly, such an increase could have been mitigated     five cities or counties have created rebates or
    or co-generation plants.                                 were it not for the short-sighted elimination of the  incentive programs in the last four years. One
                                                             energy efficiency programs designed to buffer         example is the City of Winter Park, which offers a
       The PSC’s decision certainly varies from other        consumers from price spikes.                          variable rebate program (depending on the tech-
    states, such as Vermont, which meets 2.12 per-                                                                 nology and sector). While they have exhausted
    cent of its energy needs through savings. Florida        A NEW APPROACH                                        all funds in this fiscal year, it will resume in the
    saves 0.25 percent, and that number is likely to         TO SOLAR                                              next fiscal year.
    fall after this decision. Duke Energy and Florida
    Power & Light dropped their conservation goals           The year-end conclusion of many of these in-             The Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) is the
    and cut back on their rebate programs.                   centive programs can, in some instances, be a         lone utility in Florida who is rewarding solar PV
                                                             bit misleading. Some programs were so popular         production. They offer a number of incentives.
       After the decision, environmental groups were         that the rebate budgets were exhausted well in        One we’ll highlight here is their $0.05 kWh credit.
    contemplating whether the PSC violated state law         advance of December 31, 2015. For example,            According to their website, “customers receive a
    by instituting a policy that leaves utilities with vir-                                                        monthly credit on their OUC bill of 5.0 cents per
    tually no energy efficiency requirements. We have
    not found any evidence to date that they have
    taken legal action against the PSC.
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