10/04 - Hogtown’s Back in the National Spotlight

Hogtown’s Back in the National Spotlight       by Bob Bruggner

It must seem like a recurring bad dream for all those other cities in the state of Florida. Once again an innovative, cutting edge initiative is underway in the city of Gainesville and it’s garnering a great deal of national and worldwide attention. No, this time it not about Urboe and the UF football team or Billy Balls’ pursuit of a third national championship or the latest research coming out of the North Florida Regional Medical Center.  No this latest initiative is the result of a partnership between the Gainesville Regional Utilities and the Gainesville City Commission which in February implemented a project making Gainesville the first city in the United States to implement a photovoltaic (PV) feed-in tariff program.  Now I know what you’re thinking;  “there’s no way a feed-in tariff program can generate the same level of excitement (or beer sales) as next weeks’ UF/LSU showdown” but participation in the program was literally sold out just weeks after the program was announced.  As a primmer and potential topic of conversation during halftime, here’s how the program works.

The City of Gainesville was searching for ways to increase the overall percentage of renewable energy they deliver customers to 20% by the year 2020. Granted, a costly and ambitious goal given the fact that electricity generated from renewable recourses such as solar are typically much more expensive than electricity currently being generated from fossil fuels. Add to this the fact that our current renewable energy policy in the U.S. consists of a complex maze of tax incentives, rebates, and state mandates making it economically impractical for states, communities and small generators to play a role in renewable electricity generation.  Note that “Profitability” is our magic word for today.  

The Gainesville Feed-in tariff program is modeled after programs that have been used successfully in Europe for years and will offer Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) electric customers a chance to invest in solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and sell all the electricity that they produce back to GRU. The utility will guarantee the purchase of power from participants at the above market rate of $0.32 per kilowatt-hour for a period of 20 years, in essence offering homeowners and businesses a reliable and profitable source of income while providing the incentive to producing green energy for the city.  The cost of this higher priced green energy will be coved by increasing the price of electricity per customer at a rate of $0.75 per month or about $10 a year.  A pretty good value when compared to the cost incurred by customers when utilities build new fossil fuel or nuclear facilities such as the nuclear plant proposed by Tampa Electric and Progress Energy in Levy County. Progress is seeking to raise its base rates 30 percent while adding roughly $3 to the average monthly bill to help pay for its planned nuclear plant.

In a recent NPR Marketplace interview, Gary Rowell, a tire shop owner in Gainesville, discussed his motivation for participating in the feed-in tariff initiative by installing two sets of solar panels, one on his house and one on his tire shop at a personal cost of more than $200,000. “I don't believe in global warming to 100 percent. I think it's mostly bull but I got five grandkids, and I said you know what: I'm gonna do it for them if I do nothing else.”  Mr. Rowell (remember our magic word for today?) also expects to earn $300,000 over the next 20 years and wants that money to be there when those grandkids head off to college.

Lately, there has been a great deal of discussion in Tallahassee about the qualities and characteristics of great leaders and their ability to influence a group of individuals to come together to make something extraordinary happen. Clearly, a lot of extraordinary programs continue to surface in Gainesville and dag gumit, we might all learn a little something by studying what’s going on in Hogtown.  Enjoy the game and know that your comments, ideas and suggestions are always welcome. (bbruggner@gmail.com)