CRIST'S LOFTY ECO-VISION GIVES OTHERS THORNY TASK

Gov. Charlie Crist thrust Florida into the green-energy spotlight overnight, using the copy and paste buttons on California's energy plan and unveiling it in rock-star fashion in front of hundreds of environmentalists, politicians and business leaders.

During a two-day conference on climate change in Miami last month, Crist, wide-eyed and optimistic as ever, swept through a crowd of utility executives, clean-energy advocates and agency heads -- shaking hands, sitting in hybrid cars and talking about how Florida is going to be a leader in fighting greenhouse gases.

And then he walked away, leaving others to hammer out the details and then sell the plan to a state that's in a budget crunch:

Slash carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050. Make all state-owned buildings energy-efficient. Create a carbon scorecard. Promote solar and wind power.

"The 'how' is without question going to be a challenging issue in Florida's strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Mike Sole, secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection. "It is not normal for governments to look at the year 2050 and identify where they need to be in such a long period of time. But it's necessary."

Transforming the Republican governor's orders from sound bite to reality will take a number of state agencies as well as builders, farmers and utilities. Laws have to be changed, regulatory rules have to be rewritten and consumers have to be convinced that going green isn't going to kill their wallets or cause too much of an inconvenience.

"This is doable; this is going to be good for our businesses, good for our economy and good for jobs," said Jerry Karnas, Florida Climate Project director for Environmental Defense, a New York-based environmental advocacy group. "This is not going to be the economic killer for the state of Florida."

The DEP has started work on setting up greenhouse-gas caps for the utilities and crafting aggressive vehicle-emissions standards that are the same as California's. The Florida Public Service Commission, which regulates the state's utilities, is writing rules that allow consumers to get reimbursed for energy they generate from solar or other renewable fuels as well as fine-tuning the requirement that utilities get 20 percent of their electricity from renewables.

"There is a reason the process takes so long: because it is so complex," said Kirsten Olsen, spokeswoman for the commission.

The Department of Management Services has begun building a team to scour the 83 state-owned buildings -- most of which are in Tallahassee -- and figure out how to add more efficient lights, fixtures or air conditioners so they immediately meet a national energy-efficient standard, Deputy Secretary Shane Strum said. The lights in the agency's main building, for example, turn off when no one is in the room for a certain amount of time, he said.

The department also is looking for cars and trucks for the state fleet that are more fuel-efficient, or that can run on biodiesel or ethanol. Additionally, it plans to contract with rental car agencies that have hybrids or other fuel-efficient vehicles.

"There are a lot of agencies involved, but we're already working together, we're already having meetings," said Strum, who added that it's too early to tell how much the project will cost. "It's an exciting time, and you're not just hearing this from state government, you're hearing it from the private sector."

In the governor's eyes, the eventual main brain behind the state's energy plan is a 21-member action team on energy and climate change that Crist named two weeks ago.

The team is set to meet Wednesday and has until Nov. 1 to recommend to the governor how the state should tackle curbing greenhouse gas emissions and diversifying the state's fuel base.

"There are a lot of challenges, no doubt about that, but there's a lot we can do with conservation and efficiency, and I'm not talking about sitting in a dark room and sweating to death," said Tommy Boroughs, who heads the Florida Energy Commission. "I'm not the one who jumped at the governor's percentage goals or timing to say, 'We can't do that.' It's 'Let's focus on what we can do, guys, and let's focus on how quickly we can do it.'"

The group, headed by Sole, includes lawmakers, business leaders and professors. Four members are environmentalists, and only one person --Florida Power & Light Co. President Armando Olivera -- directly represents the utilities.

That looks like a problem to one energy analyst.

"You've got quite a few companies in the state that have provided electricity for more than 50 years, and I don't know why they don't have more representation," said David Parker, a Tampa-based utility analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co.

"If you load up a panel with politically driven people, they are going to do what people are going to want to hear today, which is renewables, or it's 'Let's just use less.'"

But Boroughs said Crist has reached out to the power companies, and added that Olivera brings a strong voice to the team.

"I think some of the utilities would like more representation, but you have the head of FPL, who furnishes 50 percent of our electricity, so it's a big dog in the hunt," Boroughs said. "And he's just a great guy."

Olivera said in a statement that he welcomes the opportunity to work with the others on the team.

"Future generations will judge us on how well we come together today to deal with climate change concerns," Olivera said. "It's a shared effort because in ways big and small each one of us can make a positive difference. FPL is committed to being a part of the solution."

C.J. Drake, a spokesman for St. Petersburg-based Progress Energy, said the utility is comfortable with the green team.

"We have an excellent relationship with the governor, and we are confident that he will take into account all views of the industry in general and Progress in particular," Drake said.

The group has to sell this plan to politicians and consumers in a year in which most are still squeezed by increases in property taxes and homeowners insurance premiums. Also, lawmakers are returning to Tallahassee next month to figure out how to cut a budget it approved a couple of months ago.

Other states with aggressive clean-energy plans, meanwhile, got them jump-started by dumping millions of dollars into their renewable-energy programs.

"Most bold initiatives are difficult, but we're never going to see progress if we don't try," said Erin Isaac, the governor's top spokeswoman.

While much of this plan can fall under agencies that Crist oversees, the rest of it has to be wrung out by the legislature.

Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, said he applauds Crist's approach for environmental and geopolitical reasons but added that costs are an important issue.

"We have to ensure that we have a common-sense approach that is not only good long-term environmentally, but long-term good for us economically," Rubio said. "Living in Florida has gotten very expensive, and we have to ensure that anything we do does not make Florida an unaffordable place to live or work."

Sen. Lee Constantine, backer of the legislature's two primary energy bills in the 2006 and 2007 sessions, said he expects the energy plan to take up much of the 2008 legislative session and has spoken with Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, about making sure each of the Senate committees is involved.

"It's not saying, 'This is what we want to do,' but 'How do we want to do it?'" Constantine said. "We need to have some group to tell us how we need to get there. The 20 percent goal is great and wonderful and fantastic, but how do we make that 20 percent goal happen? That's the deeper question."

~ kristi_swartz@pbpost.com

The action team

Here are the 21 members of Gov. Charlie Crist's green-energy team:

Chairman

Mike Sole, secretary, Department of Environmental Protection

Members

Sen. Jeff Atwater, R-Palm Beach Gardens

Rick Baker, St. Petersburg mayor

Tommy Boroughs, chairman, Florida Energy Commission

Camille Coley, executive assistant vice president for research, Florida Atlantic University

Lisa Edgar, chairwoman, Florida Public Service Commission

James Fenton, director, Florida Solar Energy Center

Manley Fuller, president, Florida Wildlife Federation

Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach

David Guest, lawyer, Earthjustice's Tallahassee office

Debbie Harrison, South Florida program director, World Wildlife Fund

Lonnie Ingram, microbiology professor, University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Mark Kaplan, environmental lawyer, principal at Mosaic Fertilizer LLC; chief of staff to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush

Jerry Karnas, Florida Climate Project director, Environmental Defense

Sen. Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee

Rep. Stan Mayfield, R-Vero Beach

Jerry Montgomery, senior vicepresident for conservation and environmental sustainability, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

Armando Olivera, president, Florida Power & Light Co.

Charles Pattison, executive director, 1000 Friends of Florida

Kathleen Shanahan, chief executive officer, Tampa-based WRS Infrastructure & Environment Inc.; chief of staff to Bush

Jack Shreve, senior counsel to Gov. Charlie Crist

Alexandra Clough's column will return next Sunday.