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TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and
the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) received 215
grant proposals this fall for renewable energy technologies. Part of DEP’s
Renewable Energy Technologies Grant Program and DACS’ Farm-to-Fuel Grant
Program, the grants are designed to stimulate capital investment in the state
and promote and enhance the statewide utilization of renewable energy
technologies.
“Through the Renewable Energy Technologies Grant Program, the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection is encouraging investment in renewable
energy projects that promote energy diversity and economic growth,” said DEP
Secretary Michael W. Sole. “By investing in alternative energy technologies,
Florida is exploring strategies to help prevent pollution and reduce greenhouse
gas emissions.”
DEP received 139 grant proposals seeking more than $200 million in grant
funding and providing almost $700 million in cost share for renewable energy
projects. The proposals, which include technologies such as biomass, solar and
hydrogen, will now be evaluated by the state based on a number of different
criteria, including cost share percentage, economic development potential,
energy efficiency and how the project fosters public awareness of renewable
energy technologies.
This year, the Florida Legislature appropriated $12.5 million for the
Renewable Energy Technologies Grant Program to support projects using renewable
energy sources such as hydrogen, biomass, solar energy, geothermal energy, wind
energy, ocean energy, waste heat and hydroelectric power. Grants will be awarded
in February 2008 at a maximum of $2.5 million per project. In addition to the
Renewable Energy Technologies Grant Program, the Florida Legislature also
provided $3.5 million for the Solar Energy Rebate Program and almost $1 million
to promote energy efficiency. Last year, DEP and DACS provided $15 million in
grant funding to eight organizations during the first year of the Renewable
Energy Technologies Grant Program.
One of the top priorities of DACS Commissioner Charles Bronson is Florida’s
“Farm-to-Fuel” initiative, a wide-ranging effort to see that the agriculture
industry produces 25 percent of the state’s energy needs by the year 2025. The
initiative is designed to decrease Florida’s dependence on foreign oil while at
the same time giving the state’s agricultural producers additional crops to keep
their land in agriculture.
“We’re committed to doing everything that we can to create a renewable energy
industry in Florida,” Bronson said. “With our long growing season, millions of
acres of farm and timber land and ample sunshine, there’s no reason that Florida
shouldn’t be a leader in this industry.”
For the Farm-to-Fuel Grants Program, DACS received 76 grant proposals seeking
more than $161 million in grant funding and providing almost $575 million in
cost share for bioenergy projects. The proposals will now be evaluated based on
factors such as using Florida-grown crops or biomass to produce energy,
expanding agribusiness in the state, preliminary market research and efficient
use of energy and material resources.
In 2007, the Florida Legislature established the Farm-to-Fuel Grants Program
to provide matching grants for demonstration, commercialization, and research
and development projects relating to bioenergy. As part of this program, the
Legislature appropriated $25 million in matching grants to stimulate investment
in energy projects that produce bioenergy from Florida-grown crops or biomass.
On July 13, 2007, Governor Charlie Crist set a new direction for Florida’s
energy future by signing a groundbreaking set of Executive Orders during the
Serve to Preserve Florida Summit on Global Climate Change. The three Executive
Orders represent the Governor’s commitment to addressing global climate change,
a promise to reduce Florida’s greenhouse gases, increase our energy efficiency
and pursue more renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind technologies,
as well as alternative energy, such as ethanol and hydrogen. In addition,
Governor Crist committed to partnering with Germany and the United Kingdom to
discuss and promote initiatives that broaden the Kyoto Protocol and reduce the
emission of greenhouse gases beyond 2012.
For more information about Renewable Energy Technologies Grant Program, visit
www.dep.state.fl.us/energy. For
more information on Florida’s Farm-to-Fuel program, visit
http://www.floridafarmtofuel.com/. For more information on Florida’s climate
change initiatives, visit
www.dep.state.fl.us/climatechange.
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