Environmental groups and those involved in the solar energy industry reacted with dismay (if not outright anger) earlier this month when the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association (aka flaSEIA) came out in support of the proposal being floated in Tallahassee to authorize offshore energy exploration for oil and natural gas off Florida's shores.
The proposal — which would give the governor and cabinet the authority to approve oil and gas exploration three to 10 miles off the Florida coast — was introduced shortly before the conclusion of the 2009 regular session in the spring. Its sudden trajectory (including a coterie of lobbyists flooding the state capitol advocating for its approval) has alarmed lawmakers and citizens alike throughout the state.
When asked why his organization came out in support of the proposal, flaSEIA's Executive Director Bruce Kershner told CL that the solar industry in the state is facing "dwindling revenues for the next several years which will minimize any funding for solar."
In a letter written to the chief sponsor of the plan, Republican Dean Cannon (the incoming speaker of the House), Kershner proposed that "a Solar Trust Fund be created from the revenues generated from the royalties and leases the state would receive from oil and natural gas exploration and drilling."
But some in the industry say that Kirschner's move reeks of desperation, and they're unhappy about it.
Ed Strobel runs Sunshine Solar Services out of Fort Lauderdale, and quit the organization in disgust at their support for offshore drillling.
"They didn't ask the membership about this at all. I assume they did this for money," Strobel said, sounding disheartened. "I got into this industry to try to make a difference for the future… I couldn't accept them doing a deal with the other side," he added, referring to the oil and natural gas companies that stand to prosper if the legislature approves the plan.
Recently, a board member of flaSEIA , Roger Messenger, also quit the organization.
When asked if his departure had anything to do with the group's support for offshore drilling, Messenger replied somewhat ambiguously to CL in an e-mail that he left the group because at least two members of the organization were "engaging in activity without authorization by the Board." He said that when five board members asked for a special meeting, "We were stonewalled."
Bill Johnson is president of Brilliant Harvest in Sarasota. He thinks it was politically foolish for flaSEIA to support the offshore drilling proposal, saying, "It puts a knife in the back of the very groups that have been supporting the solar industry."
But flaSEIA's Kerschner says that first and foremost, his group represents an energy association, not the environmental community. And it's indisputable that the solar industry has not received anywhere near the support from lawmakers in the Sunshine State, compared to many other parts of the country.
As part of the 2006 Florida Energy Act, the Solar Energy Systems Incentives Program was announced. It gives rebates to a home or business that purchases solar photovoltaic, solar thermal and solar thermal pool heating systems. (The federal government provides tax credits for those purchases.)
But the program has been without funding since July 2008 when it was last filled with $5 million to cover the backlog of solar investors. Since then, the state of Florida has racked up another $5M backlog of individuals and business owners who have invested in solar energy, putting their faith in the state to fund the program. (However, the federal stimulus is providing help here — a total of $14 million to boost the program is expected to come in by the of this year.)
Last week the group Progress Florida asked Bruce Kerschner if his decision to support offshore drilling was influenced by the fact that several lobbyists who work for flaSEIA also work for Florida Energy Associates, the mysterious organization that has not revealed its membership and is lobbying for more drilling off Florida's shores. (Last month the St. Petersburg Times reported on two of the organization's members, Texas oilman M. Lance Phillips and Daytona Beach attorney Doug Daniels.)
One of those lobbyists is David Rancourt, based in Tallahassee with the Southern Strategy Group. When asked about allegations that he was the influential voice that persuaded flaSEIA to support the offshore drilling proposal, he replied, "I have done my level best for every group to get behind this plan. I'd like to think I'm persuasive. Some groups are more receptive than others."
Jerry Karnas is the Florida project director at Environmental Defense Fund. He says it's ultimately counterproductive for the solar industry to support the expansion of natural gas since cheap natural gas delays grid parity for solar.
By that he means that the goal for solar is to get its major costs decreased so that it can compete with the price of natural gas. "The more solar you create, the less you'll pay for natural gas. But a glut of natural gas on the market is the worst thing for solar. It makes no sense for anyone in the [solar] industry to want more natural gas."
The larger question remains why the emphatic push to get this plan on the table immediately. Some observers believe that Governor Crist would be the best bet for oil interests to get the legislation passed in the next year. In recent months he has seriously strayed from his previously solid record on the environment (as he has on other issues, apparently in reaction to the push he's receiving from Marco Rubio in the race for Senate).
The leading candidates to replace Crist as governor, both Alex Sink and Bill McCollum, have both come out against the drilling proposal.
But solar power advocates say that collectively, Florida's leaders need to begin showing a much more serious commitment to solar (as well as other forms of renewable energy) if they're sincere about diversifying the state's energy needs.
Bill Johnson with Brilliant Harvest says a number of states are doing far more to boost renewable energy efforts than Florida, and says leadership is required. "Solar is going to come. The costs are going down. Electricity for everything else is going up. Photovoltaic systems are getting less expensive. The question that the state has to ask is: Do we want to be a leader or a follower?"
Based on recommendations by the state's Public Service Commission, the answer is clearly the latter. Last week staffers with the increasingly controversial agency recommended that the added cost of encouraging customers to use solar power and other renewable forms of energy was too much for a large incentive program.
This article appears in Oct 22-28, 2009.