Recently, the Florida Public Service Commission backed a plan that would require Florida utilities to generate 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020. Does it stand a chance of being reached?
Florida electric utilities can generate about 54,000 megawatts. Of that total a little more than 1,000 megawatts comes from renewable sources, almost all from biomass, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
To reach the 20 percent goal will require installing about 9,000 megawatts of new power plants and retiring a similar amount of existing generating capacity. Or, assuming the need for additional generation capacity, installing a larger amount of renewable capacity to meet the 20 percent goal.
Of all the renewable energy choices, wind power is the cheapest. The estimated cost per megawatt installed is about $2 million.
Unfortunately, Florida is not a good candidate for installing wind turbine farms. The cost of putting wind turbines offshore doubles with operation and maintenance.
The next least expensive system collects methane from landfills and uses the gas to power turbines. Cost per megawatt is $2.5 million.
While it is advantageous to use landfill gas, its combustion will add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Various other types of biomass sources such as wood- derived fuels can also be used, but the cost of installing such power plants will generally be about $3.8 million per megawatt.
Solar thermal systems might have a market in Florida. However, the cost of installing such plants is estimated to be about $5 million per megawatt.
Solar cells are the most expensive renewable option, about $6 million per megawatt. But there are no future fuel costs.
Since wind turbine farms are not candidates in Florida, the least costly type of renewable power generation would be based on biomass. They would require an investment of at least $27 billion to reach a 9,000 megawatt goal. Whether there is sufficient biomass resource available to fuel that many power plants for 20 or more years is questionable.
Going green, as Gov. Charlie Crist recommends, means that residents probably will have to pay higher utility bills. It also means communities would have to accept the new power plants.
The road ahead will almost certainly encounter many bumps and potholes, and reaching the end of the journey will require overcoming many unknowns
