‘Green fanatics’ scare Florida administration from 100% renewable goal – pv USA magazine

May 24, 2024 John Fitzgerald Weaver

Florida Governor Desantis has signed new legislation that repeals the state’s goals to develop plans to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2050. Their law also bans any offshore wind farms within one mile of the coast. Last week, it even banned the use of the term “climate change” in government documents.

The state is currently under pressure as insurance agencies withdraw homeowners insurance due to the increase in hurricane intensity and damage caused by climate change.

On Twitter, DeSantis wrote:

We restore common sense to our approach to energy and reject the agenda of radical green fanatics.

The newly signed act, CS/CS/HB 1645repealed the Agriculture Commissioner’s renewable energy targets for 2022. Te statewide renewable energy goals required utilities to generate 40% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, increasing to 63% by 2035 and 82% by 2040, with a goal of achieving 100% renewable energy a decade later.

Data from pv USA magazine 50 states of the sun indicates that in the twelve months prior to and including February, Florida generated 6.88% of its electricity from solar energy. In February alone, utility-scale solar power accounted for 7.46% of the state’s electricity, a significant increase thanks to numerous solar projects that came online in January.

In February, small-scale solar PV installations provided 1.88% of Florida’s total electricity, meaning the cumulative solar share for the month was 9.33%. Florida does not use wind energy, either on land or offshore. Charts provided by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory show that state wind energy resources are not profitable.

Additionally, CS/CS/HB 1645 allows utilities to build methane pipelines of up to 100 miles without requiring certification, an increase from the previous limit of 15 miles.

In response to the threat of hurricanes, previous legislation aimed to develop solar technologies to provide electricity to critical areas when major infrastructure fails. However, the new law removed the word “solar” from the legislation..

The new law also obliges the state to conduct research on advanced nuclear technologies.

Interestingly, Florida’s governor surprised many people across the country when he did this vetoed a bill that would have initiated a reduction in net metering for residential and commercial applications behind the solar energy meter.

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, Florida will deploy 15,592 MW of solar energy over the next five years, ranking it third in the United States.