Florida will repeal clean energy goals, citing new law removing mentions of climate change

TAMPA, FL (Tampa Bay Times/TNS) – Florida’s Office of Energy plans to repeal goals for statewide utilities to transition to cleaner energy, including a requirement that 100% of the state’s energy come from renewable sources by 2050.

The proposal to roll back the targets was drafted by Energy Authority Director Brooks Rumenik and endorsed by Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, a Trilby Republican who oversees the Energy Authority. The clean energy targets were not binding on utilities but set standards for the portion of power companies that should be produced or purchased from renewable sources, starting at 40% by 2030. They were set in 2022 by Simpson’s predecessor , Democrat Nikki Fried.

The recall, which was published Wednesday in the State Register, follows a new law signed last week by Gov. Ron DeSantis. House Bill 1645 removed most mentions of climate change from state law and overhauled the state’s energy policy to focus less on reducing greenhouse gases.

Citing this new law, the Energy Authority’s proposal states that renewable energy targets “are no longer necessary.”

The act prohibited, among other things, construction of offshore wind turbines in state waters, limited some regulations regarding gas pipelines and limited the control of local governments over the location of natural gas storage facilities.

“We are restoring common sense to our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of radical green fanatics,” DeSantis announced in a post on X, signing the bill.

Environmentalists opposed this solution. Greg Knecht, executive director of The Nature Conservancy of Florida, called it “a disservice to the renewable energy sector, local communities and all Floridians.”

“The current law’s striking language on climate change harms not only Florida’s future, but also our current economy,” he said.