Florida falling behind on renewable energy development

Two years ago, the Sunshine State seemed poised to assume its natural role as a national leader in renewable energy. ¶ Then-Gov. Charlie Crist touted a plan for 20 percent of the energy generated in the state to come from renewable sources such as solar by 2020. ¶ After wide praise, the effort died in the 2009 Legislative session — and every year since. ¶ Now, instead of emerging as a leader, Florida lags behind 29 other states — including such places as New Jersey — in developing a renewable energy policy.

"Florida should lead the way," Crist said in a recent interview. "It's going to take leadership. It always takes leadership."

Actually, the problem is bigger than that.

Put simply, renewable energy sources like solar cannot yet compete on cost with sources like coal, natural gas and nuclear. So, if you want someone to build a solar power plant in Florida, ratepayers will have to subsidize its operation.

When states want to push solar and other forms of renewable energy, they create what are called renewable energy portfolio standards, which go by the acronym RPS.

RPS defines the subsidy that a solar plant, for instance, would get for the power it generates, and is designed to allow the plant to produce enough revenue to stay in business.

That raises the overall cost of power. And that's why Florida lawmakers, in the midst of the Great Recession, have held up Crist's plan.

Of course, there's another side to the issue. And the Tampa Bay area has a stake in the outcome.

Sooner or later, the argument goes, Florida and the rest of the nation will have to embrace renewable energy to cut dependence on foreign oil. If Florida waits till later, the renewable energy industry argues, it will lose jobs and the highly skilled college graduates who would go to states with advanced solar and other technologies.

"I think a renewal energy portfolio standard is going to be essential for there ever to be a real push for renewables in the state, whether its solar, biomass or other renewable," said Mario Farias.

Farias represents a group of German businesses looking to make St. Petersburg a hub for solar energy. The group proposes to open a manufacturing plant in St. Petersburg that would employ 160 people and a solar electricity generation plant that would add 100 more jobs.

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Unlike Florida, North Carolina has a renewable energy policy. Progress Energy operates in both states. Right now, about 2 percent of the energy generated in each state comes from renewable sources.

Smart Grid Jobs Get an App : Greentech Media

Looking for a job in smart grid ? There’s an app for that.

For the savvy specialist who is always on the go and looking for new employment opportunities in the smart grid space, the one-year-old staffing agency Kavaliro , which specializes in the power sector, has just released its mobile app for iPhone and iPad.

Although unemployment rates are still exceedingly high, certain technical sectors, and utilities in particular, are clamoring for talent. A study by Carnegie Mellon University’s Electricity Industry Center found that about half of the nation’s 400,000 power industry workers will be eligible to retire in the coming years.

A recent report by the Brookings Institute found that green jobs employ about 2.7 million people in the U.S., more than the fossil fuel industry . As utilities confront an aging workforce, fresh blood is badly needed.

Because of the shortage, many engineers probably don’t need an app for that. Talk to utility engineers and they’ll tell you that they’re regularly bombarded with offers at other companies (although younger engineers will sometimes share that they’re reticent to move to out-of-the-way locales).  Power and automation companies, like ABB, are staples on campuses (like NC State) in an effort to turn out the next generation of workers.

But for others looking to come in from other sectors, like telecom, or those who may be curious about the skill set needed to get into smart grid, job listings can be good places to start. Some sectors, like wind, are also moving towards accreditation at certain schools to ensure that graduates have the skills that are really needed.

Kavaliro is part staffing agency, part IT provider to many of the largest utilities in the country. About 65 percent of the company’s open jobs are in power electronics (General Electric, ABB) or utility jobs (Progress Energy, Consolidated Edison), and nearly one quarter of the listings are specifically in smart grid, according to Mark Moore, President of Kavaliro. The company grew out of another venture, SGIS, which provided IT staffing solutions for the Department of Defense.

“I’ve been in this industry for 15 years and I’ve never seen us as busy as we are right now,” Moore said of the highly skilled IT space. Although many of the people they help place have already been in the utility space, they also work with specialists that come from other sectors, such as telecom.

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