Florida Farm to Energy Act

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"Saving the Family Farm" while creating for the first time ever a sustainable renewable energy market in Florida.

   The State of Florida now has the opportunity to attract hundreds of millions of private investment dollars in to the renewable energy industry, creating long term jobs, stimulating local economies from Miami to Orlando to Pensacola, and establishing energy security through distributed generation and a strong, secure, reliable electricity grid. 

The Florida Farm to Energy Act will establish a long term dedicated funding source for widespread renewable energy facilities to connect to the electricity grid and sell the power that they produce at an economically viable rate. With the backing of a long term, bankable contract, investments in renewable energy facilities will pour in to the State of Florida, as they have in other states with proper policies in place.

The agricultural community, who currently faces painfully high costs of waste and by-product mitigation, can now turn those by-products into an energy producing, income generating asset. Commercial and residential properties across the state with vacant land and available roofspace would also be able to turn their property into an income generating facility through installation of solar and other renewable energy technologies. Tens of thousands of jobs would be created upon the immediate impact of this policy, including construction, installation, finance, real estate, manufacturing, audit & inspection, regulation, architecture, roofing, electrical, and many more. Florida would not only be attracting private investment in development, infrastructure and manufacturing, it would also be keeping the millions of dollars spent out of the state every day on energy production and imports, thereby keeping Florida's money in state and working in Florida.

Through implementation of the Florida Farm to Energy Act, Florida would begin it's fight back to become a leader in the country for renewable energy production. Solar, wind, biomass and other renewables would be available as production facilities, creating for the first time ever a renewable energy marketplace in the State of Florida.

Read the Florida Farm to Energy Act - click here

Florida PACE Financing Legislation Announced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                       CONTACT:  Joseph Agostini

February 3, 2010                                                                                                  (850) 488-1993

HOUSE LEADERS TO PURSUE FINANCING INITIATIVE TO CREATE JOBS,
EXPAND CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY TO FLORIDA

~Innovative financing option provides Florida homeowners, businesses with incentives, generates jobs~

TALLAHASSEE - Energy & Utilities Policy Committee Chairman Steve Precourt (R-Orlando) and House Majority Leader Adam Hasner (R-Delray Beach) today announced that they are exploring an innovative approach known as PACE - Property Assessed Clean Energy - financing that could be utilized to help consumers and businesses pay for retrofitting their properties with clean energy technology at no cost to taxpayers.  The projects generated by these private sector clean energy improvements also hold the promise of significant job creation for Florida’s economy.

“PACE is a no-subsidy, no-mandate, no-cost to taxpayers, consumer opt-in approach that can bring clean energy technology to homeowners and businesses while creating jobs for Floridians,” said Leader Hasner.  “By helping consumers finance the upfront costs for energy improvements, we’ll be taking away the biggest burden for homeowners who want to make their homes more energy efficient and save money.”

“Over the next few weeks, we’ll be exploring what is being implemented in other states and looking for the best model to implement PACE in Florida,” stated Chairman Precourt.  “PACE is an exciting option with promising potential to help create jobs and increase savings for property owners.”

In today’s economy, few homeowners and commercial property owners have the upfront capital to invest in retrofitting their homes or buildings to take advantage of the advances in clean energy technologies and the possible cost savings obtained from those improvements.  PACE bonds present an innovative, no-taxpayer subsidy approach to financing those individual clean energy projects on a large scale. 

How PACE Works: PACE bonds are issued by a municipality or special district and backed by property tax liens on the buildings of owners who voluntarily take PACE loans from the bond pool. The property owner repays the loan over a 20-year period through an increase on their annual property taxes equal to one-twentieth of the loan plus interest.  For many home and business owners, the annual energy cost savings they will realize from the retrofitting will exceed the cost of the annual repayment costs, thereby resulting in no net out-of-pocket expense.

PACE financing was named by the Harvard Business Review as one of the “Breakthrough Ideas for 2010.”  It has the potential to result in significant job creation for Florida at no cost to taxpayers - only real estate owners who opt-in will pay the cost of the improvements.

If a successful model can be implemented, House Leaders are also looking at the option of expanding the PACE approach to property owners looking to harden their homes through hurricane mitigation improvements. Property owners could offset the costs of their improvements through potential reductions in property insurance costs.

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