After sitting in seats normally occupied by lawmakers for two days to push for the Legislature to come back to Tallahassee for a special session that includes renewable energy, environmentalists wrapped up their Clean Energy Congress, but said the pressure would continue.
The gathering, hosted by the Florida Business Network for a Clean Energy Economy, came to an end Tuesday afternoon, though organizers were still finalizing proposals put forth by the 120 delegates. The group, a mix of renewable energy producers, academics and policy leaders, signed a Declaration of Energy Independence after a second day of meeting in the chamber where a requirement that Florida power companies drastically increase their use of renewable energy has died for two years running.
That plan, which would require power companies to eventually produce at least 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources, was once vocally supported by Gov. Charlie Crist. It was approved by the Senate in 2009, but never taken up by the House. It wasnt seriously debated in either chamber this year, as lawmakers focused primarily on education and the budget ahead of a tumultuous election season.
Organizers of the conference hope that will change.
Its our intent to take the recommendations, the energy and enthusiasm coming out of the congress out in the community, Business Network for a Clean Energy Economy Director Susan Glickman told reporters. (Delegates) were talking about reconvening right before the session.
Like many of the speakers Monday and Tuesday, Glickman said the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico mayh have changed the political calculus in the House enough to get the chamber to move on the renewable energy standard. Before the spill began dominating the attention of state officials, environmentalists had begun planning to launch a petition drive for a 2012 constitutional amendment vote on the renewable standard.
I think the odds are good that the governor will call a special session and I think the odds are equally good that they would include some sort of renewable energy, Glickman said. The oil spill has awoken an interest and urgency among people that I have not seen before. Energy issues are somewhat complex and its not something that easily captures the publics imagination, but this is different and the time is now. People want solutions.
I do think theres an in enormous interest in the House, she continued. While it hasnt been a top priority I think that the dynamics of the spill in the Gulf of Mexico is shifting that.
Glickman pointed out that House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach, submitted a proposal to promote the development of electric cars, which has been a pet project of his for awhile.
We dont need a crisis to understand that innovative electric drive technology is critical to addressing our long term challenges for achieving energy security, promoting economic growth and protecting our environment, Hasner said in a statement. While I recognize that funding for this initiative remains a challenge, the ideas contained in this proposal are intended to provide a framework for moving Florida forward on electric vehicle adoption and commercialization and public charging infrastructure.
But Hasner was not talking about what Glickman and the majority of the Clean Energy Congress said Tuesday that the state needs: a mandate for renewable energy. Glickman was still making the case after the Declaration of Energy Independence was signed.
While we solve this incredible problem (with the oil spill), its an incredible opportunity to attract investments, which creates jobs, she said. If you look at the mapof where states have renewable portfolio standards, the South is very absent. For Florida, even though weve missed many opportunities, if we were to move quickly, we would be a leader in the southern region. This is an opportunity, even though in perfect world we would have moved two to three years ago.
The group perhaps found a more supportive ear for the plan in Chief Financial Officer - and presumptive Democratic gubernatorial nominee Alex Sink, who addressed the congress Tuesday morning. Sink told the congress that it was good that they traveled to Tallahassee, but they needed to pressure lawmakers to follow in their footsteps.
We need the people who really sit in this room to get it, Sink said in her remarks to the Clean Energy Congress. Ideas are not good if they only stay on a piece of paper. Ideas are not good if you produce a report that ends up on a shelf. The only ideas that are great ideas are the ideas that we, through effective leaders and good policy, make a reality. I commit to you to make your ideas into reality.
But perhaps demonstrating the difficulty the Clean Energy Congress may face convincing lawmakers to back their ideas once they are finalized, Sink would not firmly endorse the RPS after her speech.
I think its something we have to look at it, she told reporters. We have to evaluate the impact. We know that 30 other states have put a renewable portfolio standard in place. Im anxious to see what the impact has been. (Im) very conscientious about any possible rate impact upon Floridians.
Asked about the absence of a key stakeholder in the possibility of a renewable energy standard the investor-owned utility companies Glickman said their voices have long been heard.
The large investor-owned utilities are already involved in the process, she said. They influence the process through their political contributions and through their lobbyists. This congress was about bringing people to the forefront who dont have the voice.
Glickman said she was not worried the Clean Energy Congress was preaching to the choir, though she conceded We did start from a point of agreement.
Everyone in that room comes from perspective that we can do better, she said, though she quickly added the group was diverse in other ways. There was such a unique mixture (of energy producers). This wasnt a typical gathering by any stretch of the imagination to have that broad array of people.
