| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to renewable energy; amending s. 366.92, |
| 3 | F.S.; expanding legislative intent relating to the state's |
| 4 | renewable energy policy; amending ss. 377.703 and 377.803, |
| 5 | F.S.; revising definitions of the terms "renewable energy |
| 6 | resource" and "renewable energy" and defining the term |
| 7 | "biomass" for purposes of those definitions; requiring the |
| 8 | Florida Public Service Commission and the Department of |
| 9 | Environmental Protection to submit a report relating to |
| 10 | current renewable energy opportunities, resources, and |
| 11 | technologies in the state; requiring the commission and |
| 12 | the department to evaluate the effects of certain energy- |
| 13 | generation methods; providing evaluation criteria; |
| 14 | providing for the ranking of energy-generation methods |
| 15 | based on the results of such evaluation; requiring the |
| 16 | commission to develop and adopt renewable energy portfolio |
| 17 | standards; providing an effective date. |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 366.92, Florida |
| 22 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 23 | 366.92 Florida renewable energy policy.-- |
| 24 | (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to promote the |
| 25 | development of renewable energy; protect the economic viability |
| 26 | of Florida's existing renewable energy facilities; diversify the |
| 27 | types of fuel used to generate electricity in Florida; lessen |
| 28 | Florida's dependence on natural gas and fuel oil for the |
| 29 | production of electricity; minimize the volatility of fuel |
| 30 | costs; encourage investment within the state; improve |
| 31 | environmental conditions; and, at the same time, minimize the |
| 32 | costs of power supply to electric utilities and their customers; |
| 33 | and, at the same time, be consistent with the state's greenhouse |
| 34 | gas reduction goals and air quality standards and the guiding |
| 35 | principles of reliability, affordability, efficiency, and |
| 36 | diversity. |
| 37 | Section 2. Paragraph (j) of subsection (2) of section |
| 38 | 377.703, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 39 | 377.703 Additional functions of the Department of |
| 40 | Environmental Protection; energy emergency contingency plan; |
| 41 | federal and state conservation programs.-- |
| 42 | (2) DEFINITIONS.-- |
| 43 | (j) "Renewable energy resource" means electrical, |
| 44 | mechanical, or thermal energy produced from a method that uses |
| 45 | one or more of the following fuels or energy sources: hydrogen |
| 46 | produced from sources other than fossil fuels or nuclear energy, |
| 47 | biomass, solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, ocean |
| 48 | energy, waste heat, or hydroelectric power. As used in this |
| 49 | paragraph, "biomass" means a power source that is comprised of |
| 50 | combustible residues, oils, or gases from forest products |
| 51 | manufacturing, agricultural and orchard crops, waste products |
| 52 | from livestock and poultry operations and food processing, urban |
| 53 | wood waste, biogenic municipal solid waste, municipal liquid |
| 54 | waste treatment operations, and landfills any method, process, |
| 55 | or substance the use of which does not diminish its availability |
| 56 | or abundance, including, but not limited to, biomass conversion, |
| 57 | geothermal energy, solar energy, wind energy, wood fuels derived |
| 58 | from waste, ocean thermal gradient power, hydroelectric power, |
| 59 | and fuels derived from agricultural products. |
| 60 | Section 3. Subsection (6) of section 377.803, Florida |
| 61 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 62 | 377.803 Definitions.--As used in ss. 377.801-377.806, the |
| 63 | term: |
| 64 | (6) "Renewable energy" means electrical, mechanical, or |
| 65 | thermal energy produced from a method that uses one or more of |
| 66 | the following fuels or energy sources: hydrogen produced from |
| 67 | sources other than fossil fuels or nuclear energy, biomass, |
| 68 | solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, ocean energy, |
| 69 | waste heat, or hydroelectric power. As used in this subsection, |
| 70 | "biomass" means a power source that is comprised of combustible |
| 71 | residues, oils, or gases from forest products manufacturing, |
| 72 | agricultural and orchard crops, waste products from livestock |
| 73 | and poultry operations and food processing, urban wood waste, |
| 74 | biogenic municipal solid waste, municipal liquid waste treatment |
| 75 | operations, and landfills. |
| 76 | Section 4. (1) By January 1, 2009, the Florida Public |
| 77 | Service Commission and the Department of Environmental |
| 78 | Protection shall prepare a current and comprehensive assessment |
| 79 | of renewable energy opportunities and demand-side resources and |
| 80 | technologies in the state and submit a report to the Governor, |
| 81 | the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of |
| 82 | Representatives. The report shall address existing and potential |
| 83 | renewable resources and technologies, economic considerations, |
| 84 | and environmental issues. |
| 85 | (2) By July 1, 2009, the Florida Public Service Commission |
| 86 | shall evaluate each method used, or proposed to be used, to |
| 87 | generate electricity in the state to determine its efficacy in |
| 88 | achieving the goals of reliability, affordability, efficiency, |
| 89 | and diversity. This evaluation process should establish the |
| 90 | levelized cost in cents per kilowatt hour and incremental |
| 91 | capacity in kilowatts for each generation method. |
| 92 | (3) By July 1, 2009, the Department of Environmental |
| 93 | Protection shall measure the environmental effects of each |
| 94 | method used, or proposed to be used, to generate electricity in |
| 95 | the state in order to create an emission profile and determine a |
| 96 | greenhouse coefficient for each generation method measured in |
| 97 | equivalent pounds of carbon dioxide emitted per megawatt hour of |
| 98 | electricity generated. |
| 99 | (4) By July 1, 2009, the Florida Public Service Commission |
| 100 | and the Department of Environmental Protection shall: |
| 101 | (a) Establish a ranking for all generation methods used, |
| 102 | or proposed to be used, in the generation of electricity in the |
| 103 | state based on the quantitative results determined by the |
| 104 | commission under subsection (2). |
| 105 | (b) Determine how to achieve state greenhouse gas emission |
| 106 | goals using the quantitative results determined by the |
| 107 | department under subsection (3) within the content of the |
| 108 | ranking established under paragraph (a). The greenhouse effect |
| 109 | of each generation method may be calculated using greenhouse |
| 110 | coefficients and incremental capacity data. |
| 111 | (5) By September 1, 2009, the Florida Public Service |
| 112 | Commission shall use the rankings established under subsection |
| 113 | (4) to develop and adopt, by rule, a renewable energy portfolio |
| 114 | standard that will appropriately promote the use and development |
| 115 | of renewable energy resources and technologies in the state. |
| 116 | Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |