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Crist Argues Clean Energy Push

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By RUSSELL RAY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 13, 2007

TAMPA - Gov. Charlie Crist, in Tampa today for a meeting of the National Governors Association, defended his clean energy policies against naysayers who claim his mandates for renewable energy are unrealistic and will inflate electric bills.

"We have to be optimistic in this discussion," Crist said during a roundtable discussion on the need to increase the use of clean energy. "We're probably the state most susceptible to climate change."

Florida is an ideal place for the development of wind and solar power, Crist said. But the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the state's largest business group, disagrees, saying winds in Florida aren't strong enough to justify the cost of building wind farms and that Florida's solar potential is average compared with other states.

"There's some convincing that needs to take place," Crist said.

Executive orders that Crist signed in July require Florida's electric utilities to produce 20 percent of their power from renewable energy sources, though no deadline has been set.

He also ordered utilities to lower emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas linked to global warming, to 1990 levels by 2025.

Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at (813) 259-7870 or rray@tampatrib.com.

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