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A bill to be entitled

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An act relating to renewable energy; amending s. 366.92,

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F.S.; expanding legislative intent relating to the state's

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renewable energy policy; amending ss. 377.703 and 377.803,

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F.S.; revising definitions of the terms "renewable energy

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resource" and "renewable energy" and defining the term

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"biomass" for purposes of those definitions; requiring the

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Florida Public Service Commission and the Department of

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Environmental Protection to submit a report relating to

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current renewable energy opportunities, resources, and

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technologies in the state; requiring the commission and

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the department to evaluate the effects of certain energy-

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generation methods; providing evaluation criteria;

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providing for the ranking of energy-generation methods

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based on the results of such evaluation; requiring the

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commission to develop and adopt renewable energy portfolio

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standards; providing an effective date.

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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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     Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 366.92, Florida

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Statutes, is amended to read:

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     366.92  Florida renewable energy policy.--

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     (1)  It is the intent of the Legislature to promote the

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development of renewable energy; protect the economic viability

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of Florida's existing renewable energy facilities; diversify the

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types of fuel used to generate electricity in Florida; lessen

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Florida's dependence on natural gas and fuel oil for the

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production of electricity; minimize the volatility of fuel costs;

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encourage investment within the state; improve environmental

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conditions; and, at the same time, minimize the costs of power

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supply to electric utilities and their customers; and, at the

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same time, be consistent with the state's greenhouse gas

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reduction goals and air quality standards and the guiding

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principles of reliability, affordability, efficiency, and

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diversity.

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     Section 2.  Paragraph (j) of subsection (2) of section

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377.703, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

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     377.703  Additional functions of the Department of

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Environmental Protection; energy emergency contingency plan;

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federal and state conservation programs.--

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     (2)  DEFINITIONS.--

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     (j) "Renewable energy resource" means electrical,

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mechanical, or thermal energy produced from a method that uses

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one or more of the following fuels or energy sources: hydrogen

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produced from sources other than fossil fuels or nuclear energy,

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biomass, solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, ocean

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energy, waste heat, or hydroelectric power. As used in this

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paragraph, "biomass" means a power source that is comprised of

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combustible residues, oils, or gases from forest products

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manufacturing, agricultural and orchard crops, waste products

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from livestock and poultry operations and food processing, urban

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wood waste, biogenic municipal solid waste, municipal liquid

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waste treatment operations, and landfills any method, process, or

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substance the use of which does not diminish its availability or

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abundance, including, but not limited to, biomass conversion,

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geothermal energy, solar energy, wind energy, wood fuels derived

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from waste, ocean thermal gradient power, hydroelectric power,

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and fuels derived from agricultural products.

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     Section 3.  Subsection (6) of section 377.803, Florida

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Statutes, is amended to read:

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     377.803  Definitions.--As used in ss. 377.801-377.806, the

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term:

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     (6)  "Renewable energy" means electrical, mechanical, or

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thermal energy produced from a method that uses one or more of

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the following fuels or energy sources: hydrogen produced from

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sources other than fossil fuels or nuclear energy, biomass, solar

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energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, ocean energy, waste heat,

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or hydroelectric power. As used in this subsection, "biomass"

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means a power source that is comprised of combustible residues,

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oils, or gases from forest products manufacturing, agricultural

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and orchard crops, waste products from livestock and poultry

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operations and food processing, urban wood waste, biogenic

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municipal solid waste, municipal liquid waste treatment

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operations, and landfills.

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     Section 4. (1) By January 1, 2009, the Florida Public

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Service Commission and the Department of Environmental Protection

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shall prepare a current and comprehensive assessment of renewable

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energy opportunities and demand-side resources and technologies

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in the state and submit a report to the Governor, the President

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of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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The report shall address existing and potential renewable

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resources and technologies, economic considerations, and

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environmental issues.

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     (2) By July 1, 2009, the Florida Public Service Commission

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shall evaluate each method used, or proposed to be used, to

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generate electricity in the state to determine its efficacy in

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achieving the goals of reliability, affordability, efficiency,

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and diversity. This evaluation process should establish the

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levelized cost in cents per kilowatt hour and incremental

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capacity in kilowatts for each generation method.

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     (3) By July 1, 2009, the Department of Environmental

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Protection shall measure the environmental effects of each method

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used, or proposed to be used, to generate electricity in the

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state in order to create an emission profile and determine a

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greenhouse coefficient for each generation method measured in

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equivalent pounds of carbon dioxide emitted per megawatt hour of

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electricity generated.

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     (4) By July 1, 2009, the Florida Public Service Commission

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and the Department of Environmental Protection shall:

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     (a) Establish a ranking for all generation methods used, or

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proposed to be used, in the generation of electricity in the

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state based on the quantitative results determined by the

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commission under subsection (2).

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     (b) Determine how to achieve state greenhouse gas emission

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goals using the quantitative results determined by the department

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under subsection (3) within the content of the ranking

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established under paragraph (a). The greenhouse effect of each

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generation method may be calculated using greenhouse coefficients

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and incremental capacity data.

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     (5) By September 1, 2009, the Florida Public Service

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Commission shall use the rankings established under subsection

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(4) to develop and adopt, by rule, a renewable energy portfolio

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standard that will appropriately promote the use and development

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of renewable energy resources and technologies in the state.

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     Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.