Jul 16 - The Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.)

Amid record-breaking gas prices, global energy worries and recent evidence that the earth is as hot as it's been in 2,000 years, Sarasota and Florida Power and Light plan to collaborate to build Florida's largest solar power plant.

The project highlights recent statewide renewable-energy initiatives such as rebates for homeowners that go solar.

"We're in a serious energy crisis," said Phillip van Beynen, a professor of Environmental Science at the University of South Florida.

Sarasota and FPL announced in April that they are teaming up to build Solar Array at Rothenbach Park. With 1,200 photovoltaic solar panels, the facility will cover 28,000 square feet or about half the size of a football field. It will be built on the site of the old Bee Ridge Landfill and will be visible from the road, just east of Interstate 75 in Sarasota.

"This is an opportunity to do something meaningful and to introduce the public to solar power," said Sarasota County Commissioner Jon Thaxton. "We're happy to do our part."

Construction on the plant should start late in the fall and be operational sometime in 2007. It will cost FPL between $1 million and $2 million, FPL spokeswoman Pat Davis said.

FPL is starting small -- the plant will produce 250 kilowatts, enough energy to supply about 44 homes with power -- but has vowed to add 150 kilowatts for every 10,000 homes that sign up for its Sunshine Energy program. The program is offered to FPL customers who want to support renewable electrical power. Customers pay an extra $9.75 a month to fund renewable-energy products, such as the new solar plant.

More than 24,000 have signed up for Sunshine Energy since it became available in 2004, with 903 from Manatee County and 1,677 from Sarasota County, Davis said. "We're very committed to doing things that customers show participation in," Davis said. "And, obviously, we're excited about how many people signed up in such a short time."

Thaxton is one of those who have signed up. And he's glad the state is finally taking bigger steps toward more emphasis on renewable energies, recalling the collapse of the Solar Florida Energy Commission, which the state government helped run, about 10 years ago.

"In hindsight, that proved to be a bad decision," Thaxton said. "But 10 years ago, they thought oil would last forever. Now we're behind when it comes to renewable energy, especially solar power."

The plant will prevent over 680,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere every year, about the same amount produced by 761,000 miles of driving, according to FPL.

Carbon dioxide emissions are one of the leading causes of global warming and last month the National Academy of Sciences, after analyzing two millennia of average global surface temperatures, concluded the earth hasn't been hotter in the past 2,000 years.

It's why, van Beynen said, action is needed to make up for lost time. He also said people need to take global warming more seriously.

"We need to have bigger changes," he said. "Probably the only way to do that is to have more heat-related things happen, like heat waves, and then people would pressure politicians more."

He also said global warming may be partly responsible for stronger hurricanes.

"There's a natural cycle with hurricanes," he said. "There are always stretches when they are more powerful, but there's evidence that global warming is amplifying those stretches."

In response, Florida is trying to make it financially worthwhile for residents to opt for renewable sources of energy. With a budget of $2.5 million, the Solar Energy System Incentives Program, which offers savings of up to $4 for every watt of solar power a home uses, took effect July 1. It rewards homeowners and businesses, with limits of $20,000 and $100,000, respectively, for going solar. This is where companies like Solar Direct come in.

Based in Bradenton, Solar Direct offers a variety of solar energy products including an entire home makeover. Dale Gulden, chief executive officer, said phone calls and visits to his company's Web site have increased substantially due to the rebates offered by the state.

The solar system that's installed must meet state requirements to be eligible for the rebates. The job would have to be installed by an approved contractor. Then, a copy of the contract between the homeowner and the contractor, along with a copy of the building permit, a system identification sheet and a photograph of the system must be mailed to the Florida Department on Environmental Protection, which will send a check to the homeowner.

A full solar home makeover includes the installation of a solar water heater, solar panels to conduct electricity and a solar pool heater.

Solar power is not cheap. An average system, one that could power a house, costs about $16,000. Under the act, the state could foot half of that.

"It would probably be a while until people saw some kickback," van Beynen said. "But the more people that start to use it, the cheaper it will be. It's something that needs to be promoted better."

Gulden agrees, adding he thinks the state needs to do more, especially because only Texas and California consume more energy than Florida, according to data released by the Energy Department in 2002.

"Florida is certainly taking a big step with the rebate programs but it pales compared to other states," he said. "Other states have aggressive programs because they have to by law. Here, it seems more like a marketing phenomena than an actual goal."

Jim Tatum, manager of solar programs for the Florida Energy Office, said Florida "is being very aggressive" in pursuing alternate forms of energy. He added that it "has to grow at a rate that's acceptable to the market."

Nineteen states have established laws that require a certain percentage of its energy be renewable by a certain year. Three other states have similar goals. Florida has no law or goal.

"The public has the sense that this is a real concern," Gulden said. "Plus when you have the pain at the pump and now the rebates, looking at alternatives makes sense to more people than ever."

John Calkins, Herald reporter, can be reached at jcalkins@HeraldToday.com [mailto:jcalkins@HeraldToday.com] or at 708-7909.

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The state has set aside $2.5 million for solar rebates. Users can get a maximum of $20,000 for homes and $100,000 for businesses.

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How to go solar:

Go to www.findsolar.com [http://www.findsolar.com] to find solar businesses in your county.

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Facts:

HOMES

More than 10,000 homes in the United States are powered entirely by solar energy. FPL's plant will initially supply 44 homes.

SUN

Enough sunlight falls on the earth's surface every hour to meet world energy demand for an entire year.

SAND

Silicon from just one ton of sand, used in photovoltaic cells, could produce as much electricity as burning 500,000 tons of coal.

The first big solar power plant opened in California in 1982.

Source: Alliant Energy

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How solar power works:

A Photovoltaic (solar) cell consists of semiconducting material that absorbs the sunlight. The solar energy knocks electrons loose from their atoms, allowing the electrons to flow through the material to produce electricity.

- U.S. Department of Energy

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Locator:

Rothenbach Park is just east of I-75 on Bee Ridge Road.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Bradenton Herald, Fla.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.