Hundreds convened in Tallahassee today to discuss policies highlighting energy
independence and kick off Reclaiming Florida’s Future For All advocacy day
The largest convening of youth clean energy advocates in Florida history arrived at the Capitol today to urge state legislators to take action on energy independence and grid diversity. The advocates called for plans to increase incentives for solar and backup energy generators to use in times of extreme weather events.
Following the devastation caused by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, Senator Lori Berman (D-Delray Beach), Senator Alexis Calatayud (R-Kendal), and Representative Joe Casello (D-Boynton Beach) introduced SB 178/HB 195 to harden our state’s emergency shelter infrastructure.
Under the bill, upgrades designed to improve the hardiness and energy independence of educational facilities will be exempted up to $2 million from the cost per student station limitation imposed on school construction. Early momentum is positive in the Legislature, and the legislation was passed by panels in both the Senate and House in pre-session meetings.
The Reclaiming Florida’s Future for All movement provides an opportunity for Floridians to make their collective voices heard and call for a safe and sustainable future. Advocates are urging the Legislature to tackle the major health, environmental, and economic challenges caused by climate change with bold yet commonsense solutions.
“Florida’s schools open their doors to 3 million students every day and also serve as safe emergency shelters for communities during disasters Schools are the backbone of a community,” said Alian Collazo of Senator Calatayud’s office.
“We know that true community resiliency includes mitigating global warming pollution, while also adapting to the impacts of warming and changing climate. This legislation does both, allowing us to transition to cleaner and renewable sources of energy while using solar and on-site battery storage to provide backup power for emergency shelters,” said Salome Garcia, Senior Manager of Policy & Campaigns at the CLEO Institute
“Every year, Florida faces the prospect of grid-disrupting natural disasters. When our residents enter emergency shelters, they expect, at the very least, to be kept safe and have access to power. This legislation will seize on the opportunity to create more self-powered centers of refuge and build a greener, more resilient Florida,” said Senator Berman.
“When it comes to school resiliency, we cannot let Florida fall behind. HB 195 is commonsense legislation that will give our schools the needed tools to prepare for extreme weather events as well as support affordable clean energy,” said Representative Casello.
“Taking action to thwart climate change becomes more urgent each day. This year, there is great potential to pass effective climate legislation, but we need our Legislature to move!” said Kim Ross, Executive Director of Rethink Energy Florida. “Floridians are here making sure that legislators know where their constituents stand.”
Reclaiming Florida’s Future for All and the associated news conference is organized by The CLEO Institute, ReThink Energy Florida, Florida Student Power Network, Rethink Energy Action Fund, Sierra Club – Florida, Solar United Neighbors Florida, The GenCLEO Action Fund, Action for the Climate Emergency, Alianza For Progress
