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Summit speakers tout Florida's alt-energy future
by Kristi E. Swartz, Palm Beach Post
August 27, 2007

JUPITER -- Florida should get its alternative forms of energy from a wide variety of sources, a University of Florida professor told a early morning crowd today at an alternative-energy summit.

Engineering professor Eric Wachsman has set his sights on a hydrogen-fueled world but said Florida should work on using biofuels and agricultural waste to produce electricity.

Wachsman told the crowd of 200 that gathered at the Jupiter Island Resort that investors are putting a lot of money into renewable fuels and that Florida's economy can benefit.

"There's a lot of money to be made in alternative energy, and Florida should jump on that bandwagon," Wachsman said.

The conference, called Powering Florida's Energy Independence, was organized by the Public Forum Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit think tank. It is being hosted by U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Palm Beach Gardens.

Another speaker, Florida Solar Energy Center Executive Director James Fenton, said biomass - plant and agricultural waste - has so much potential that he refers to it as "baby coal." But he said the first thing the state should do is focus on using less energy in the first place.

"We have to be efficient. Let's start with our homes," said Fenton, who heads the Cocoa-based solar center, part of the University of Central Florida.

"If the goal is to be energy-independent, that's a technology job that you can't outsource," he said. "It is the only technology job you can't outsource because the definition of being independent means: You do it." Through slides, Fenton showed off the nation's first so-called zero-energy home, built in Lakeland in 1998. The house, outfitted with a white roof, lots of awnings for shade, solar-photovoltaic panels and a solar thermal hot-water heater, uses 90 percent less energy than a standard home, he said.

California, arguably the most aggressive state in energy efficiency, has taken steps to have each of its residents use an average of 5,000 kilowatts less a year. This is saving the state millions of dollars in energy costs as well.

Fenton said just 2 percent of new homes built last year were built to top energy-efficient standards.

"We left a lot of money on the table," he said.

Though the state leads in things such as citrus, wood waste and forest residues, Florida won't be able to produce electricity solely from biomass products, said Lonnie Ingram, director of the Florida Center for Renewable Chemicals and Fuels at the University of Florida.

"We will not be able to do it all. We will need a blend of technologies," Ingram said.

Florida Atlantic University hopes to start up a demonstration project on ocean energy this fall, said Rick Driscoll, associate professor at the university's department of ocean engineering.

Researchers will use the same technology used to make wind turbines work, he said. Driscoll said researchers haven't pinned down how much electricity Florida will be able to get from ocean energy but he thinks within 10 years it will be able to have a "significant impact" on the state's grid.

"We need to adapt this technology and bring it to Florida," he said.

Sponsors of today's conference, which features a keynote speech by Mahoney, include Juno Beach-based FPL Group Inc., owner of utility giant Florida Power & Light Co. and FPL Energy LLC, one of the top producers of wind and solar power. Other sponsors include U.S. Sugar Corp., Florida Crystals Corp., and Siemens AG.

Learn more about the 2007 Alternative Energy Summit: Powering Florida's Energy Independence. 

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