PSC strengthens renewable requirements -- a little

Following outrage from renewable energy advocates, state regulators on Thursday strengthened recommendations for how much renewable energy utilities will have to produce.

The new proposal calls for utilities to get 5 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2017, 10 percent by 2025, 15 percent by 2033, and 20 percent by 2041.

The rule proposed by Public Service Commission staff also caps the impact of the renewable programs on electric bills at 2 percent, doubling it form a controversial proposal put forward in August.

“2041 is not much better than 2050,” said Melissa Meehan, a lobbyist for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “It’s still timid. That’s my gut reaction. Obviously, it’s a small improvement, but we are hoping for something stronger.”

"The time lines are still somewhat underwhelming," said George Cavros, a consultant for Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

"The bottom line is that we're still reviewing it," said Scott Sutton, a spokesman for St. Petersburg utility Progress Energy. Sutton said the utility supports guidelines that are "achievable" and "cost effective."

A draft proposal put forward in August won acceptance from the state’s utilities, but earned derision from environmentalists who called it the weakest renewable energy requirement in the nation.

The August proposal called for the state’s investor-owned utilities to produce 2 percent of power from renewable energy sources by 2010, 3.75 percent by 2017, 6 percent by 2025 and 20 percent by 2050 — 30 years later than Gov. Charlie Crist had called for.

Download the proposal here: Download staffreconRPS100208.pdf

-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer

Comments

[IheartTECO]

Hey, great. So my power bills are going to go up ANOTHER 20 percent this year because of TECO's crappy coal plant, on top of the 25% over the last 3 years. Its good to see we have a plan to get 20% of our energy from renewables by the Jon Gruden is 100 years old. Maybe by then the Saudis will own America anyway and we'll all be living in Iceland where its only 90 degrees.

[Spudz]

LOL 2041!!!!

What I dont understand is all this concern over how much renewable energy costs when we are getting frickin HAMMERED by rate increses today because of oil gas and coal.

I thought the Century Commission named global warming as this state's number one issue. Does the left hand talk to the right hand--or is the right hand placed nice and snug in the crotch of the coal/nuke lobby while the left hand is calling up the Governor of California for photo shoots?

Time to send a bag of renewable municipal solid waste to Nancy Argenziano's office. She is a disgrace, just like the rest of that hamstrung Commission.

Where is the leadership??? They are letting Florida down- every single one of them.

I could beat those measly renewable requirements myself with a pocket mirror and a hamster wheel.

Can't wait to see what they want to do on carbon sequestration. We could just f@rt into a holes in the ground once a year.

Will Crist still be around in 2041?

The whole lot on the PSC has been very disappointing. They rubber stamp everything TECO and the utilities want. Want a rate increase? Check. Want more profits? Check. Intentionally steal peoples money on the voluntary renewable program and dont want acountability? Check. Make everyone pay for nuclear plants that will likely never be bult? Check

My damn rates have gone up probably $60 a month. Meanwhile utility companies get to squash renewable energy. I'm just stunned.

Bam - I'll take another smack please thanks.

[PROGRESS??? Energy? LOL]

I have done the responsible thing- I have pulled more money out of my pocket to pay for more efficient windows and doors for my home. Now, I just have my rates jacked up by these fools at the utilities. FOOLS. JACKA**ES.

Let's go all the way with net metering...and no rate increases for nuke plants that haven't even been approved or built yet! C'mon, people!!! This is RIDICULOUS!

[Tino]

7:30 pm: "What I dont understand is all this concern over how much renewable energy costs when we are getting frickin HAMMERED by rate increses today because of oil gas and coal."

Solar, while dropping in price, is still about 5 times the cost of oil/gas/coal. So should I interpret your reasoning asa request to get hammered 5 times as hard?

[paminator]

"What I dont understand is all this concern over how much renewable energy costs when we are getting frickin HAMMERED by rate increses today because of oil gas and coal."

One proven way (see CA as an example) to get renewables to be price competitive with conventional electricity generation is to a) raise taxes and use some of that revenue to offer rebates and PTC's for renewable sources, AND b) jack up electricity prices from conventional sources.

The recently-announced price increases are just part of the over-arching green energy initiative for the state. Once we get to peak rates of $1.00 per kWhr, and boost the solar rebate funding from its current approx. $5M/yr to $5B/year, then there will be a cascade of solar PV installations throughout the state. And we'll be so green!

Of course, we still end up with far higher electricity prices than we have now. But don't you feel better about your planet?

[Mary]

The market answer is to allow renewable energy sources to sell diectly to end-use customers. Percentages and price caps are arbitrary. The utilty can be relieved of its obligation to provide firm electrticity if the end-use customer agrees to interruptible service.