Florida Solar Panel Referendum

Voters in florida rejected amendment 1 yesterday a referendum that on its face seemed designed to expand solar power use but in reality sanctioned florida s utility companies to levy fees on.

Florida solar panel referendum.

That s because florida has early voting and many of its citizens are only now discovering that a ballot initiative disguised to look like a pro solar energy amendment to the state constitution. In central florida starting november 1st 2016. Solar farms such as this 648 panel one in maryland have been cropping up in other states but until recently florida has been slow to get on the bandwagon despite its state nickname of the. Any customer of peace river electric coop who puts up solar panels has to sign a solar interconnection agreement which now includes a penalty of 5 00 per kilowatt usually 11 or 14 cents per kw for every kilowatt of power that is used during and after 15 minutes of higher than.

The measure would have provided businesses and individuals with a constitutional right to produce up to two megawatts of solar power and sell that power directly to others. The solar power industry is opposed to amendment 1 a proposal to amend the state constitution that will appear on the ballot as florida solar energy subsidies and personal solar use initiative. Solar energy is the state s most abundant energy resource and estimates have placed the state s potential at 2 902 gw which would produce about 5 274 479 gwh an amount much larger than the state and countries s total electricity consumption of 231 210 gwh and 4 125 060 gwh in 2010. A ballot measure in florida could pave the way for utilities to raise fees on solar customers.

Florida is one of only two states with no potential for conventional wind power the. If the florida supreme court approves the ballot language florida voters could decide in november 2020 whether to be able. The florida right to produce and sell solar energy initiative was not on the ballot in florida as an initiated constitutional amendment on november 6 2018 the measure did not make the ballot in florida on november 8 2016.