Feb. 3rd Conference
The event held on the 3rd of February in Tallahassee marked the first of a three day tour that rocked the renewable energy world in the State of Florida.
The Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy (FARE) held it’s conference ‘Effective Renewable Energy Policies’ for a standing room only crowd of more than 250 people on February 3rd in Tallahassee.. The conference focused on which policies were most cost effective to the ratepayer and would result in the most jobs created to keep Florida dollars in state. Seven delegate members from the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) were present. Members of the EPIA account for 80% of the world’s solar power production. Executives from Q Cells, Phoenix Solar, Solar World, and SMA told the incredible growth stories of their companies and time and again stressed to the crowd the direct correlation between the growth of their respective companies and the implementation of a Feed in Tariff policy mechanism in Germany and throughout Europe. In Germany, where the Feed in Tariff was crystallized, the country currently produces more than 50% of the world’s solar power while having the solar radiance as Juneau, Alaska. Florida is currently one of ten states to consider such a mechanism, which goes by many names such as Renewable Energy Payments, Feed in Tariffs and Renewable Energy Dividends. Jobs and economic recovery were discussed at length as the primary benefit of the policy design. The availability to install solar and other types of renewable on every home, church, farm, condo and commercial property was correlated to the thousands of permanent jobs created and millions of dollars that would be kept in the State. The conference also had a special focus on Gainesville, FL., the first municipality in the United States to introduce a Feed in Tariff policy structure.
The delegation of EPIA members spent the next day on a whirlwind tour of the State’s Capitol, being welcomed by more than 30 state legislators and officials, each time telling their remarkable growth stories and sharing their views on how a Renewable Energy Dividend, aka Feed in Tariff, policy design led to their success.
Other speakers and sponsors of the event included National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA), Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA), MMA Renewable Ventures, Dexia Finance, The World Future Council, The Alliance for Renewable Energy (ARE), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Mayor Hanrahan of Gainesville, Mayor Marks of Tallahassee and Florida Senator Lee Constantine.
“The Florida economy needs new engines of growth; renewables can add hundreds of thousands of jobs here; the catalyst will be energy policies such as Gainesville’s solar feed in tariff that lead to long term investment security. We are delighted that the world’s largest solar companies spent time in Gainesville and Tallahassee to see first hand the investment opportunity in the Sunshine state” says John Burges of the Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy.
floridaallianceforrenewableenergy.org |
