Offshore drilling splits GOP lawmakers

The high price of gasoline has cracked the once solid wall of antidrilling sentiment in the Florida Legislature.

"I'm tired of spilling blood in the Middle East for oil," said Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, a drilling proponent whose son is a Marine. "If we're going to protect our nation, you've got to protect resources."

Pruitt was one of a half-dozen prominent Republican lawmakers who told the St. Petersburg Times they would support offshore drilling now. Among those opposing it, though, stands one mighty powerful lawmaker: incoming House speaker, Rep. Ray Sansom of Destin, a town famous for its pristine white beaches, and thus a place where the beach IS the economy.

"I earned the title of 'the Sandman' for protecting our white fluffy beaches to attract tourism," Jones said. "Drilling for oil is dirty and nasty and not economical. I don't care if McCain is president. That wouldn't change my mind one bit."

The tension among the Legislature's Republican majority promises a tense debate should the federal government lift its offshore drilling moratorium in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and leave the issue up to states. Last month Gov. Charlie Crist backed such a plan by Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee.

[Photo courtesy Destin Area Chamber of Commerce]

--Jennifer Liberto and Steve Bousquet

Solar power in the Sunshine State: FPL gets 1st OK from PSC

Florida Power & Light, already the biggest generator of solar power in the country, won unanimous approval from the Florida Public Service Commission this week to make its customers pay for a $688-million plan to build the first commercial-scale solar plants in Florida, according to the Miami Herald.

FPL plans to build a 25-megawatt plant in rural DeSoto County -- which FPL says would be the largest photovoltaic facility in the world -- as well as a 10-megawatt photovoltaic facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County and a 75-megawatt facility in Martin County that would link solar thermal power to a natural gas plant. The DeSoto plant is scheduled to be completed by December 2009 with the other two following in 2010.

When completed, the trio of projects would make Florida the second largest supplier of utility-generated solar power in the nation, the company says. 

The commission voted to allow the utility to recover costs through an environmental provision used to charge customers for clean-energy improvements like smokestack scrubbers. In the past utilities had to wait until a plant is producing electricity before it can recover costs, but the Legislature changed the rules to allow full-cost recovery of a utility building 110-megawatts of renewable energy generators.

"The Florida solar facilities will prevent the release of nearly 3.5 million tons of greenhouses gases over the life of the projects, which is the equivalent of removing 25,000 cars from the road per year," according to FPL.

[Photo of the sun by NASA]

--Craig Pittman

Bush greenlights drilling offshore, pressures Congress to follow suit

Look out Florida beachgoers -- President Bush is announcing today that he's lifting a longstanding executive order first imposed by his father in 1990 banning offshore oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere along the nation's coast.

The move won't lead directly to new rigs sprouting off Caladesi Island, of course. Instead it's "aimed at stepping up pressure on Congress to end the prohibition it imposed in 1981," the Washington Post reports.

In a speech last month, Bush called for ending the 27-year-old ban on drilling for oil and gas on the outer continental shelf, "arguing that the country needs more domestic energy production to help reduce dependence on foreign oil and ease upward pressure on gasoline prices," the Post reports. Congress disdained his advice, so now he's charging ahead and hoping Congress will follow, his press secretary explained.

"This proposal is something you'd expect from an oil company CEO, not the president of the United States," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Environment Committee, told the Associated Press. "The president is taking special-interest government to a new level and threatening our thriving coastal economy."

Of course, with gas topping $4 a gallon, Floridians may disagree. As one Louisiana resident told USA Today recently, ""It's OK to have an ugly spot in your backyard if that spot has oil coming out of it."

[Photo of Caladesi Island by Jim Damaske, St. Petersburg Times]

--Craig Pittman

Florida presents its 3rd annual Farm to Fuel Summit

The state of Florida is holding its third annual Farm to Fuel Summit later this month (July 30-Aug 1) in Orlando. As in previous years its an agenda packed with discussion about the development in biofuels in Florida, widely considered to have some of the greatest second generation biofuels potential due to its plentiful agricultural waste and forest.

(Register here for the summit)

The summit will include an agronomists workshop dedicated to helping farmers understand what are the best fuel crops to grow in Florida. "For the first time we are developing information for the agricultural community about what crops we can grow here," says Jay Levenstein, deputy commissioner for Agriculture and Consumer Services. "We have a lot of information we can give them."

The summit will be attended by Ed Schafer, the US Under-Secretary for Agriculture, as well as Bob Dineen, head of the US Renewable Fuels Association.

Jack Youngblood, a member of the pro-football Hall of Fame (St Louis Rams) is expected to explain his interest in the biofuels potential of north Florida forestland, along with a group of other professional sports stars, including Ryan Klesko and John Smoltz (baseball) and Bobby Rahal (motor racing).

Panelists will look at the growth of biofuels infrastructure in the state, including pipelines and fuel storage terminals, as  well as  the development of second-generation cellulosic ethanol technology.

Among the panelists will be two names familiar to readers of this blog: Bradley Krohn, president of United States EnviroFuels in Tampa, will give a talk titled 'Construction of a Commercial Sugarto-Ethanol BioRefinery,' while Dr. Jose Sifontes, president of Sigarca in Gainesville will speak on 'Bioenergy and Agricultural Products from Animal Waste.'

- David Adams

Crist's energy adviser under fire for conflict of interest with utilities

Florida Governor Charlie Crist's special energy adviser, Chris Kise, has come under attack for an ethical conflict of interest. Besides advising the Governor, he represents utility companies. That relationship is being questioned by Nancy Argenziano, who sits on the state's Public Service Commission.

Argenziano, a former Republican state senator, "is the first Crist appointee to publicly question the ethics of a governor who has sought to place a premium on propriety and openness in government," The St Petersburg Times reports this morning.

- David Adams

Ethanol in Florida: Lots of hype, lots of $, but so far not much to show for it

Our colleagues at the business magazine Florida Trend have produced an in-depth look at ethanol production in Florida, and whether it's living up to the hype -- and the taxpayer dollars that have been spent on trying to turn it into an industry.

The story begins by noting Gov. Charlie Crist's boast at last year's climate summit in Miami that no state could match Florida's potential for producing ethanol, because of a year-long growing season and robust agricultural lands. Then it goes on to look at each potential source: sugar, citrus waste etc., and the problems each of them faces, some of which we covered in a St. Petersburg Times story in March.

"Ethanol’s difficulties," the story notes, "also prompt other questions: If ethanol, which has been around as vehicle fuel for more than 100 years, is so difficult to pull off, how tough will it be to achieve Crist’s other energy goals?"

[AP photo 2007]

--Craig Pittman

Progress Energy nukes get favorable review from state staffers

Nudging Progress Energy’s nuclear ambitions forward, the Florida Public Service Commission staff on Thursday issued its opinion in favor of Progress Energy’s planned $17-billion nuclear project in Levy County.

The St. Petersburg utility wants to build two new 1,100-megawatt nuclear reactors on U.S. 19 about ten miles north of its Crystal River power station. The staff opinion agreed with Progress Energy that the utility needs more electric capacity to meet the demands of the growing region, and that nuclear is the most cost-effective way of meeting that need.

The commission does not always follow the staff recommendations, but the approval is a powerful endorsement of the utility’s plans. The commission has already voted in favor of a similar project near Miami planned by Florida Power & Light. The five-member commission is slated to vote on Levy project on July 15.

-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer

Commission defers Florida Power & Light fuel rate increases

The Florida Public Service Commission on Tuesday afternoon voted 3-2 to spread Florida Power & Light's requested fuel rate increase over 17 months instead of allowing the utility to recover all of the money this year.

The commission reached the same decision earlier in the day for Progress Energy. As in the Progress Energy decision, commissioners Katrina McMurrian and Nancy Argenziano dissented.

McMurrian though the utilities should be able to recover all of the increase in fuel costs this year. Deferring the payments over 17 months means interest charges will be added on, increasing the cost to customers. Plus, additional fuel increases may be likely for 2009 if fuel rates continue to soar, leading to "rate shock" in 2009.

Argenziano insisted that she would not allow fuel cost recovery until the commission had the opportunity for a broad review of electricity bills.

Lower your electric bill today

With rates on the way up for utilities throughout the state, there's only one sure way to lower your bill: use less electricity.

• Set your thermostat between 78 and 80 degrees, or higher if you're comfortable. When you leave the house, turn it up by 5 to 7 degrees instead of turning it off.
• Close drapes, blinds and shades in the hottest part of the day.
• Use ceiling and portable fans to keep air moving. Ceiling fans can make a room feel 2 degrees cooler.
• Unplug "vampires." These are cable boxes, televisions, phone chargers, iPod charging stations. All of them draw power even then they are not charging a device, and even when they are in sleep mode. These devices can add as much as 10 percent to your power bill. You can also put the devices on power strips, and turn the strip off when the appliances are not in use.
• Turn your computer and monitor off. Screen saver modes save NO power. Sleep modes continue to draw electricity. With most computers, powering your computer on and off does not wear it out. There is more wear and tear on electronics from heat stress of constantly running.
• Change to compact fluorescent light bulbs. The energy-saving light bulbs use about a third of the energy of incandescents.
• Put off the flat screen television purchase, or unplug the one you have when it is not in use. Many flat screen televisions can use as much power as an energy-efficient refrigerator.
• Turn off lights when you leave the room.
• Consider "zoned" air conditioning systems that allow you to cool only the rooms you are in, or a small window unit to cool only the rooms in use.
• Get a clothesline. It's hot out. Let the heat dry your clothes. A dryer uses lots of electricity, and adds heat to your house that your air conditioner has to work against. Florida law says homeowners associations can't ban clotheslines.
• Check with your utility about home energy audits that can see where you are wasting electricity. Some utilities also offer rebates on energy-saving devices like thermal wraps for hot water heaters, or solar thermal hot water installation. (Both Tampa Electric and Progress Energy offer audits and other programs.)

If you're having trouble paying your bill, there is help.

-Asjylyn Loder, Times staff writer

Win 'Gas for Life' in the Florida Lottery

The state of Florida is offering an imaginative new lottery prize: gas for life.

The new game called Summer Cash is being offered once a week for the next two months with drawings on eight consecutive Wednesdays, starting July 9. Each drawing will offer up to five winners the lifetime supply of gas. Fifty lower-prize winners each week could end up with a year's supply of gasoline.

- David Adams

Is wind energy right for Florida?

Wind energy is gearing up across the United States. But it is meeting resistance in Florida where experts say the flat terrain does not generate sufficient consistent wind power, except in some coastal areas. Residents are also putting up a fight on aesthetic and cost-efficient grounds.

FPL Energy, the country's largest wind energy company has major wind farms in Texas but none in Florida. It has been forced to scale back its first project in St Lucie County. This leaves Florida 'Twisting in the Wind, says The Miami Herald.
(Photo by AP)

- David Adams

Tampa Bay energy roundup

There's a bunch of energy news around Tampa Bay in the last few weeks. Rate increases are coming so fast and thick it's hard to keep track of what it's all for.

Let's start with this week's news. Tomorrow, Progress Energy and Florida Power & Light, as well as some smaller Florida utilities, will ask the Public Service Commission for a rate increase for fuel. (My story in Sunday's paper explained why fuel is getting so expensive.) The gist is that utilities are not allowed to profit from fuel. It's a "pass through" charge. If approved, it will hit bills on Aug. 1.

Tampa Electric isn't asking for a fuel rate increase yet, but it has asked for a base rate increase. Utilities can profit from base rates. (From a shareholder point of view, utilities had better show a profit.) Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas, both owned by Tampa-based TECO Energy, requested base rate increases that it hopes to add to bills by next May.

As if this news isn't enough of a bummer, there are more increases on the horizon. First, fuel again. Every Fall, the utilities estimate what they will pay for fuel the following year. Fuel costs are up nationwide, and Florida is no different. (If a hurricane hits the Gulf coast, fuel costs could get a lot worse.) Progress Energy has already predicted that it will ask for additional fuel rate increases that will start in January. (This is on top of the increase sought Tuesday.) Expect similar news from Tampa Electric, Florida Power & Light, and pretty much every utility that buys fuel to run its power plants (i.e., every utility.)

State short of cash to help with electric bills

The increasing number of Floridians who can’t pay their electric bills may not be able to get the help they need because the state energy assistance program will likely run short of money.

“The bottom line is that our providers around the state are seeing a tremendous demand for services, a demand that will far outstrip the availability of funds,” said Jon Peck, spokesman for the Florida Department of Community Affairs.

At the same time, Tampa Electric reported a 27 percent jump in the number of customers facing disconnection. Progress Energy has seen cutoffs increase 15 percent since last year. Paying for power could get even harder in the coming year. Both utilities plan to increase monthly bills by 10 percent or more.

Highlights of the Miami Climate Change Summit #2 from solar to PHEVs.

Looking back at Governor Crist's Climate Change Summit this week, here are some of my favorite moments, featuring a former day-trader turned solar enthusiast, Progress Energy's plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius, a new $20 million clean energy prize offered by the Scottish government, a Spanish company that is investing $8 billion in alternative energy in the United States, a new $20 million clean energy prize, and of course, the return of Arnold, The Terminator, and much, much more .....

Crist clarifies his position on offshore drilling

Addressing his Climate Summit in Miami this morning, Florida Governor Charlie Crist could not ignore the thorny issue of offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Clarifying his apparent reversal last week over offshore drilling, he called for an "open discussion" of the issue "without compromising Florida's sensitive eco-sytems and her natural beauty."

He went on: "Only when we are able to do so far enough from Florida's coast, safe enough for our people, and clean enough for our beaches, should we even consider increasing our oil supply by drilling off Florida's shore. Let me repeat: far enough, safe enough and clean enough."

As someone sitting next to me said: "That's a lot of qualifications!"

- David Adams

[St. Petersburg Times photo by Scott Keeler]

- David Adams

Crist's 2nd Climate Summit: defining "our next step forward"

Florida Governor Charlie Crist opened his second climate summit in Miami this morning saying he hoped the meeting would "chart the course of the green future of the Sunshine State."
He used the occasion to sign the state's new Energy Bill #7135, calling it "Florida's most comprehensive energy economic policy in the history of our great state."
When he hosted his first summit last year, Crist said people were not entirely convinced about his plans. "After one year everyone is on board," he said. Now it was time to "define our next step forward," he added.
That meant exploring every possible way to protect Florida from the threat of global warming by tapping into its "entrepreneurial spirit." He compared the task ahead to the challenge in the 1960s set by the Kennedy administration to put a man on the moon. "Just as America continues to reach for the stars from our great state, Florida can once again launch America into the coming green tech business boom," he said.
In order to "liberate us from our current addiction to fossil fuel ... we must be innovative, we must reach higher," he added.
That meant training new talent and expertise to fill a new era of "high wage, high demand jobs" in the green tech field. "We must equip our workforce ... a trained workforce is key to developing the alternative and renewable energy sources and energy efficiency we must have in order to reduce our carbon emissions," he said.

- David Adams

Florida launches second Climate Change Summit

Florida Governor Charlie Crist hosts his second Climate Change Summit in Miami Wednesday and Thursday.

The Governor will use the occasion to sign the state's new Energy Bill passed by the legislature, which includes provisions to establish a cap and trade system to control the gases believed to cause global warming. In an overview of the summit published in today's St Petersburg Times I take a look at what has been achieved since last year's landmark summit.

Watch the summit live here.

- David Adams

Florida holds its first carbon neutral MLB baseball game.

The Florida Marlins staged the first carbon neutral baseball game in the state last night. The team says an estimated 450 metric tons of greenhouse gases from the game will be offset by funding reforestation in Southest Florida with the help of  Carbonfund.org, a non-profit provider of certified carbon offsets.

As a die-hard Marlins fan I would have enjoyed the game more had we won (especially after loading the bases with one out in the 9th!). Final score: Florida Marlins 4, Tampa Bay Rays 6.

- David Adams

Crist's $1.75 billion plan to save the Everglades. Could it involve ethanol?

It's not strictly about climate change or energy, which is what we deal with here at The Fueling Station. But you might want to read this excellent article anyway about Florida's stunning $1.75 billion plan to purchase sugar cane fields as part of Everglades restoration.
It would be the largest conservation purchase in state history, The St Petersburg Times reports.

The story is the latest chapter in the on-going evolution of our unpredictable Governor, Charlie Crist, who last week endorsed oil drilling in the Everglades. Readers should note the reference half way down the story to the head of Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, Mike Sole, saying some of the land might be used to grow energy crops for ethanol.

- David Adams

Offshore drilling = kiss your clean beach buh-bye

Stephen Leatherman has seen every kind of beach in America, and he really likes the ones in Florida. The man known as Dr. Beach usually ranks them among the prettiest in America. This year he picked Pinellas County's own Caladesi Island as No. 1.

If oil companies start drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, that's likely to change. "We've got some of the finest, whitest sand in the world," said Leatherman, a professor at Florida International University in Miami. "Oil doesn't seem to go with that. … This could lower the value of our beaches."

Where there's offshore drilling, the beaches suffer, and so does the water. There are spills large (like the fiery Ixtoc blowout that dumped 3-billion barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 1979, pictured here) and small, as well as a plethora of pollution. Oh, and all those fish swimming around the derrick? Don't eat 'em.

Here's the full story about the consequences of offshore drilling from today's St. Petersburg Times, and here's one about Gov. Charlie Crist's about-face on the issue, and here's an excellent examination of whether all this will have any impact at all on rising gas prices.

[Photo of Ixtoc oil spill from NOAA]

--Craig Pittman

Florida Republicans split over offshore drilling

Senator John McCain's flip-flop on offshore drilling appears to have split Republicans in Florida.

While he has received the important backing of Governor Charlie Crist and Senator Mel Martinez, but others are sticking to the 27-year-old moratorium. They include members of Congress: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen from Miami and Vern Buchanon of Sarasota; as well as Ray Sansom, the incoming leader of the Florida House, and Republican House Speaker Marco Rubio.

Former Governor Jeb Bush is standing by his position in favor of limited offshore drilling. (As Governor he tried to negotiate a federal-state compromise in 2006 to keep drilling 100 miles away from Florida shores. He now suggests reviving the 2006 compromise to protect Florida's coast while lifting the moratorium on domestic oil and gas drilling.)

Click here to read an in depth story from The St Petersburg Times Washington bureau about the Republican move over oil drilling.

Click here to listen to what Governor Crist had to say about offshore drilling when he visited The St Petersburg Times editorial board in 2006 to seek the paper's endorsement for Governor.

Click here for a story on where South Florida Republicans stand in The Miami Herald.

- David Adams

The offshore drilling debate on The Diane Rehm Show

For an excellent discussion about offshore drilling in the US, and the current energy crisis, listen to The Diane Rehm Show on NPR this morning.

Click here for a link to the show.

Struggling with high electric bills? There's help

It's getting hot, and electric bills are on a sizzling rise as utility customers turn down the thermostat. To top it off, the state's utilities are looking to increase rates for fuel and other services.

If you're struggling to pay your electric bill, you maybe able to get help. The Florida Public Service Commission on Thursday highlighted some of the assistance programs. Times columnist Ivan Penn details more information on how to get help.

Read about rate increases sought by Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas.

Read about fuel rate increases sought by Progress Energy Florida.

Different utilities have different programs available. Read on for more information...

Revolutionary new Cyclone steam engine -- could it replace the internal combustion engine?

Since this blog began nearly two years ago we have been constantly on the look out for interesting new technology that might contribute to the search for alternative sources and methods for producing energy.

Here's an original one, with seeming commercial potential, I read about this morning in The Miami Herald.

It's called the Cyclone engine. Its inventors, Cyclone Power Technologies, are based in Pompano Beach. Its inventors say this revolutionary new engine is cleaner and more efficient than the internal combustion engine. It can run on any liquid or gaseous fuel, including (ethanol, biodiesel or propane), and uses water instead of motor oil as a lubricant!

Instead of a typical combustion engine ignited by sparks, the Cyclone operates like a super-charged steam engine. Fuel is combusted by a centrifugal, or cyclonic, motion, allowing the fuel to burn more efficiently. Heat is used to generate high-pressure steam to drive the engine.

The result is a highly efficient, cleaner burning engine, the company says. It has patented the technology and has won important engineering awards, as well as a contract from a big defense contractor, Raytheon.

Click here to read the article in The Miami Herald.

David Adams

Heating oil prices shooting higher too; no more advance contracts

Sure the calendar and the thermometer say summer's coming, but the rising price of oil is affecting more than just the cost of your morning commute. The price of heating oil  -- yes, heating oil for the winter -- is already hitting record highs as speculators rush to lock in contracts, Reuters reports.

As of 1 p.m. Thursday, the price of a gallon of heating oil for December hovered at just more than $4, after reaching a record high price of $4.07, according to New York Mercantile Exchange data. Last winter, the average price was $3.85, Reuters says. But analysts warn that this year prices could reach $5.

Distributors are recommending that customers lock in to 12-month contracts, but companies are increasingly unwilling to sell them. Clemons Fuel Oil in St. Petersburg, for example, no longer offers advance contracts. They only sell to customers at that day's price.

"Trade associations say pre-buy programs traditionally offered by dealers in May and June to lock in prices for consumers are nowhere to be found as oil prices continue to shatter record after record as part of a six-year rally," says Reuters.

    [AP photo]

--Andrew Dunn

Floridians more worried about gas prices than property taxes

Floridians are more worried about cutting the cost of energy than they are about holding the line on property taxes, according to a poll released Thursday morning.

Economic woes were top of mind for 47 percent of the 800 likely voters polled, according to the results from Public Opinion Strategies. The threat of a recession topped the list for most of, followed by inflation.

Next on the list: 15 percent of those surveyed thought the most important problem facing their families was growth and transportation -- particularly gas prices.

Asked what should be the top concern of Florida's elected officials, 26 percent said "improving the job and economic situation," 21 percent answered "cutting the cost of oil and energy" while 17 percent replied "holding the line on property and other taxes."

The poll was sponsored by SUEZ Energy of North America, which is developing a liquefied natural gas port 8 to 10 miles offshore in Broward County. The press release that went along with the poll results claimed that Florida voters "support expanding Florida's use of natural gas and favor the construction of the Calypso LNG Deepwater Port."

Florida politician calls for lifting tariff on imported ethanol.