Florida Finds Hope in Solar Power Struggle

For years, Florida officials have disregarded and otherwise ignored solar power as a cost-effective, clean source of renewable energy. Stating that Florida’s utility rates are already below average and constant cloud coverage poses an issue, the people in Tallahassee are making it as difficult as possible to bring solar energy into the mainstream. But there is a new hope, and it lies with Florida homeowners.

According to the offending law, only state-sanctioned monopolies can sell energy directly to consumers. In other words, solar energy must be first sold to these monopolies and then resold to consumers, leaving little money, if any, flowing back to the solar energy providers. This essentially kills any possibility of solar energy thriving in the Sunshine State, or so it would appear.

Fortunately, this law doesn’t apply to individual property owners, making it easy for home and business owners to produce their own clean energy using solar energy equipment. While the energy itself is maintained under strict law, the sun is free. In fact, with the right equipment, consumers may eventually stop paying for energy all together. And with the continued innovation of solar technologies driving down the overall cost of such equipment, Florida may find itself riddled with pockets of energy independence from Tallahassee to Miami and beyond.

A handful of state leaders continue to insist upon alternative methods of energy production, such as nuclear, clean coal, and gas. However, as more people throughout the state jump on the solar bandwagon, the hope for a solar-powered Florida grows even bigger.