Author: Sherri Shields

Governor Crist Appoints Fenton to Energy Action Team

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Jim Fenton, director of UCF’s Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) in Cocoa, has been named to the Florida’s Action Team on Energy and Climate Change.

Governor Charlie Crist made the announcement Monday. Crist said he appointed the 21-member committee to “preserve our state’s beautiful natural environment. During the next few months, Florida’s Action Team on Energy and Climate Change will develop further recommendations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and diversify our energy resources.”

Fenton said the first directive should always be to focus on “efficiency.”

“We have to find ways to make it cost effective for consumers to be more energy efficient,” he said.

Fenton, who specializes in fuel cells, sustainable energy, electrochemical engineering, environmental engineering and pollution prevention, said consumers are often put off by the initial cost of products that, in the end, will not only save them money but will also help the environment.

“I would love to find a way to let people buying a brand new home to demand every energy efficiency measure, and solar electric and water heating on the roof from their builder and get an immediate payback,” he said.

The first phase of the committee’s work, due by November 1, will be to make recommendations regarding Florida’s energy policy, including reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and strategies to diversify fuels used to generate electricity.

Phase two of the work, with a deadline of October 1, 2008, will focus on mitigating the impact of greenhouse gas emissions caused by new growth. One way will be looking at how to lure more “climate friendly” businesses to the state.

Fenton said that might require attracting venture capital funds to help companies that make and install energy efficient products to locate in the state.

CONTACT: Barb Abney, UCF, 407-823-5139 or babney@mail.ucf.edu
Governor’s Press Office: 850-488-5394 [http://www.flgov.com/release/9315]

Governor Crist Sets New Energy and Environmental Agenda for Florida

Sherri Shields Energy News , , , , 0 Comment

On Friday, July 13, 2007, Governor Charlie Crist signed three executive orders that will move Florida from “business as usual” to a national leadership position in renewable energy, energy efficiency and carbon emission reduction.

The first executive order (#07-126) [Adobe Acrobat PDF 20kb] requires state government agencies to “walk the walk.”  Among other things, it requires that green house gasses (GHG) resulting from state operations be reduced by 10% in the next 4 years and then consistently over time to 40% below current levels by 2025.  It establishes the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program and ENERGY STAR buildings standards as the new “standard practice” for state facilities.  It also directs the establishment of vehicle emissions “baseline” for the government’s state-owned vehicle fleet and then, for new vehicles, the purchase of “only those vehicles with the greatest fuel efficiency in a given class.”

The second order (#07-127) [Adobe Acrobat PDF 23kb] establishes state-wide GHG emission targets.  The Order set targets of reaching 2000 levels by 2017 and 1990 levels by 2025.  The ultimate goal is to reduce 1990 levels by 80% by 2050.  Among other things, this Order directs adoption of maximum allowable GHG emissions by utilities and adoption of the California motor vehicle emission standards.  It also directs the Department of Community Affairs to increase the energy performance of new buildings by 15% through the Florida Building Code.  Additionally, this order requests the Florida Public Service Commission to initiate rulemaking by September 1, 2007, to require Florida utilities to “produce at least 20% of their electricity from renewable sources (Renewable Portfolio Standard) with a strong focus on solar and wind energy.”  The order also requests adoption of IEEE Standard 1547 for Interconnecting Distributed Resources with Electric Power Systems as the statewide standard for utility interconnection and the adoption of net metering on a state-wide basis.

Order number three (#07-128) [Adobe Acrobat PDF 17kb] creates the “Florida Governor’s Action Team on Energy and Climate Change to develop a comprehensive Energy and Climate Change Action Plan that will fully achieve or surpass Executive Order targets for statewide greenhouse gas reductions specified in Executive Order 07-127.”  The Governor will appoint the members of this Action Team and it will be staffed and supported by agencies under his direction, specifically the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Community Affairs and the Department of Transportation.  The resulting Action Plan is to be completed in two phases, with Phase I completed by November 1, 2007 and Phase II completed by October 1, 2008.

In addition, the Governor also signed international agreements with the United Kingdom [Adobe Acrobat PDF 155kb] and the Federal Republic of Germany [Adobe Acrobat PDF 125kb]. Florida joins each nation in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and calls for immediate worldwide action. Florida hopes to strengthen ties with each country while improving upon the science and technologies used for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving public policies and overall increasing climate-friendly commerce between Florida, the United Kingdom and Germany.

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EnergyWhiz Olympics at Florida Solar Energy Center-UCF

Sherri Shields Awards, Press Release

More than 300 students and teachers from throughout Florida participated in the 2007 EnergyWhiz Olympics at the Florida Solar Energy Center on Saturday, May 12. Events included solar car races, hydrogen fuel cell vehicle races, a photovoltaic design competition called “Energy Innovations” and a solar-powered boat demonstration.

Students from elementary through high schools took part in the alternative fuel competitions. The largest event, with 61 teams, was the Junior Solar Sprint. Middle-school students designed and built model-sized, solar-powered vehicles, which they raced during the competition. Awards were given to the top performing vehicles based on design, quality of craftsmanship, innovation and speed. Read more

Renewable Energy Conference to be Held in Cape Canaveral

Sherri Shields Press Release , , ,
A four-day conference on the use and development of renewable energy in the

Caribbean will be held in Cape Canaveral from June 3 to 6. “Renewables: The Road to Sustainability” is the seventh program in a series sponsored by Sustainable Applications for Tropical Island States (SATIS) and the Caribbean Solar Energy Society.

Bill Young of the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center is serving as technical contact for the conference, which will be of special interest to Caribbean government officials and people doing business in the Caribbean islands.

Solar energy technology offers significant potential as a major energy source in the area, as well as growing opportunities for jobs such as contractors and installers. Topics of special interest to government officials include energy costs and how to reduce them and using renewable energy as a critical power supply during energy outages and disasters. Business sessions include discussions of the latest markets for renewable energy in the Caribbean. Read more

EnergyWhiz Olympics to be Held at FSEC on Saturday May 12

Sherri Shields Awards, Press Release , , , , , ,

More than 80 school teams featuring hundreds of students from around the state will participate in the fifth-annual EnergyWhiz Olympics again this year at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC).

The 2007 event will be held Saturday, May 12, from 9 a.m. to about 4 p.m.  The center is located on the campus of Brevard Community College/UCF at 1679 Clearlake Road in Cocoa.

Each year, students from elementary through high school take part in the competitions that feature alternative fuels in the Junior Solar Sprint, Middle School Science Bowl Hands-on Hydrogen demonstration, High School Hydrogen Sprint and Energy Innovations competition. Read more