State lawmakers are halfway through a legislative session they say is all about creating jobs. But when it comes to passing a comprehensive energy policy to make Florida a major player in renewable energy, they’re failing miserably. That’s a job-killing mistake that’s preventing the creation of new businesses and industries, and Florida will pay a steep economic price unless they change course. It’s particularly harmful to the Space Coast, where 9,000 NASA workers at Kennedy Space Center may lose their jobs with the shuttle fleet’s retirement and cancellation of the Constellation moon program. Their high-technology skills make them a perfect fit for the solar, biomass, wind and other renewable industries taking root, an industry that grew three times faster than the U.S. economy in 2007.
There’s also a local foothold:
Florida Power & Light’s new $78.9 million solar power project on 60 acres of old citrus field south of the KSC Visitor Complex. It’s one of three solar plants the company is building in Florida and has already created 100 jobs.
Lawmakers block action
But Republican lawmakers consumed with wrong-headed moves to open the state’s coasts to oil drilling, or who contend that state government shouldn’t take a major role in building a renewable energy market, are blocking action.
That’s sending businesses to other states and nations at a time when Florida — with a 12.2 percent unemployment rate, a 35-year high — should be pulling out the stops to plug in.
For example, eight renewable energy companies that have expressed an interest in Brevard County say they won’t come unless the state moves forward, says Lynda Weatherman, CEO of the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast.
Another casualty is a FPL proposal to build a much larger, 100-megawatt solar plant at KSC.
That could bring 1,000 temporary construction jobs and 50 long-term science and engineering jobs here. The facility also could become a hub to attract companies that manufacture solar components.
more on Florida Today (highly recommend the read)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
