We Can Create Jobs With Renewable Energy
Last week in Florida's Capitol, state lawmakers, energy industry representatives, clean-energy experts and community leaders heard findings from a new report on renewable energy in the South conducted by Georgia Tech and Duke University researchers. I'm hopeful that these meetings will mark a quiet, but episodic turning point in the state's role in a clean-energy economy.
The report's findings — heard in both House and Senate committee meetings — are crystal clear and extremely encouraging.
Florida stands to gain substantially from policies designed to spur renewable-energy production both regionally and here in Florida. While today, we produce less than 5 percent of our electricity from renewable sources, that portion could grow as high as 20 percent by 2020 if we move to enact an encouraging mix of policies, from proper tax incentives to adequate investment in research and development.
Florida is already beginning to tap the extensive resources available to us to move our energy production toward the future. The Gainesville Renewable Energy Center — a 100-megawatt biopower facility — was recently approved by Florida's Cabinet. OUC — a city-owned utility serving Orlando's region — is breaking ground on a solar farm at the Stanton Energy Center. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Florida has the potential to be a national leader in renewable-energy generation, which is a sure-fire way to create local jobs right here at home.
Our greatest potential lies in the cultivation of our land, which is rich in potential to produce bioenergy; our inland and coastal water resources; and good ol' Florida sunshine. Interestingly, this opportunity does not just stem from utility-scale production, but also from small-scale, consumer-driven developments that produce energy closer to the places we need it.
With the technological advances happening in this field, consumer-generated renewable electricity stands to play an increasingly large role in shifting our economy away from a handful of producers and into the hands of consumers. While the state may have a long way to go in terms of capitalizing on the resources at hand to produce more renewable energy, the potential to do so — with no increased cost to consumers — is enormous.
Contrary to the unsubstantiated claims that renewables cost more, the report's authors, Marilyn Brown and Etan Gumerman, found that consumers in the South could save $23 billion a year on their electricity bills by 2030, compared with what we would be paying if no new policies were enacted.
According to the exhaustive Duke-Georgia Tech study, Florida has the potential to more than quadruple the amount of electricity it generates from renewable sources. To reach this goal, state policy makers will need to step up by enacting incentives and making use of other creative strategies that send clear economic signals to public utilities, investors and manufacturers that the state has a long-term commitment to renewable energy.
Entrepreneurs and business people have long recognized how crucial it is to have the right policies in place to help accelerate the advancement of new technologies. It takes market certainty to give companies the confidence necessary to locate in Florida, expand operations and increase the work force as a result of greater long-term stability in the marketplace.
The time is ripe for state legislators to take steps to build our clean-energy capacity. The renewable resources, the will and the skills are all here in Florida. The jobs are ours for the taking.
It's up to our elected officials to harness the potential of our natural resources by adopting the policies needed to crank up our economic engine and create jobs.
To view the original article, visit: http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20110227/OPINION05/102270309/Frederick-W-Leonhardt-We-can-create-jobs-with-renewable-energy
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