Sam Van Leer of Urban Paradise Guild has written the following informative piece. His link to the special interests behind Amendment 1 is revealing. This is forthcoming in another post.
Put out the word on Amendment 1. We must not allow ourselves to be shut out from solar energy.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
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A Vote for Amendment 1 is really a Vote for Fracking…
and drowning Miami and coastal areas everywhere.
By Sam Van Leer, President and Founder of Urban Paradise Guild
Floridians already have the right to Solar power
Why is Amendment 1 on the ballot?
Today, Florida voters are being bombarded with a slick corporate campaign: we are told to “Vote Yes on 1 for the Sun,” yet we already have the right to Solar power. What is really going on?
Words can be twisted to deceive, but Actions tell the truth. Look at what the power monopolies are doing to understand their endgame. Know the impacts that these actions have on Florida today and in the future.
FPL and the other Power Monopolies are Fracking Corporations
FPL currently uses Fracked Gas to generate 69% of their electricity. The Power Monopolies are now investing $ Billions in new Fracked Gas power plants and infrastructure. They are spending $3 Billion on the Sabal Trail Pipeline to bring Fracked Gas to Florida. FPL is spending $1.2 Billion for a new power plant near Lake Okeechobee. This is just 2 projects…
Vote No On 1 because Amendment 1 is For the Fracking… and for Stealing the Sun!
FPL and the Power Monopolies are not leaders in Solar Power
FPL’s propaganda creates the impression that their solar power is everywhere… what is the truth? FPL currently generates just 1/10 of 1% of their power from Solar, and plan to triple this by the end of 2016 to an unimpressive 3/10 of 1%.
Another way to compare is solar watts per customer. FPL generates a pathetic 32 solar watts per customer, and Gulf Power generates a mere 7 watts. Utilities in other states blow Florida away. PG&E in California generates more than 1015 watts. That is over 31 times more than the FPL, and 145 times more than Gulf Power generate… in the sunshine state.
Spending $ Billions into Fracking, but only $ Millions into Solar
It is simple: we know what the Power Monopoly Agenda is by their spending.
When we compare just the current spending on Fracking at $4.2 Billion to the $0.4 Billion for Solar, it reveals what they care about: Fracking gets 90.5% of the money. The $4.2 Billion is just what we know about of their current spending — it doesn’t include prior investments, and it doesn’t include additional current spending. If the Monopolies spent even 1% on Solar, that would be surprising.
(This info is based on preliminary research, and will be expanded as we can add more firm figures.)
Stealing the Sun with Amendment 1: the Monopoly Power Grab
These monopolies are private corporations that sell power. They are killing the competition: the last thing they want is every homeowner, much less small and large businesses, to be generating power for themselves and their neighbors. They are using every trick to sustain the unfree markets.
Florida Supreme Court justice Barbara Pariente wrote “Masquerading as a pro-solar energy initiative, this proposed constitutional amendment, supported by some of Florida’s major investor-owned electric utility companies, actually seeks to constitutionalize the status quo.”
Follow the Money. You will find that they are spending at least $21 million on a campaign to fool Florida Voters into giving away their rights to Solar. They created a fake community group with the deceptive name: Consumers for Smart Solar. They hired mercenaries to run it: ex-politicians-turned-lobbyists, PR firms, petition canvassers… and much more.
See Dark Money below.
Fracking Impacts: FPL is Drowning Florida with Methane
Fracking causes Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise. It releases Methane, which is at least 80 times more dangerous as a Greenhouse Gas than Carbon. FPL is drowning Miami and other coastal areas while telling us that “Fracking is Clean Energy”.
Amendment 1 Impacts: Hurting consumers… and Drowning Florida by stopping Solar (Perspectives)
Debbie Dooley, a Tea Party activist, said that Consumers for Smart Solar: “…claims to support a free-market principle, but they are taking an anti-free-market position by siding with monopolies to stop competition from solar.” (ballotpedia.org)
Neville Williams wrote in guest commentary for the Naples Daily News: “Here’s what Amendment №1 would do, if passed: Under the guise of stating that consumers will have the constitutional right to own or lease solar (they already have the right), the amendment would allow state and local government to impose all manner of fees and regulations on solar users to prevent “consumers who do not choose to install solar” from subsidizing the “backup power and grid access to those who do.” This is complete nonsense. Nowhere in the U.S. is grid-tied, net-metered solar power threatening any utility or power network. In reality, decentralized rooftop solar electricity provides net benefits by reducing the stress on the grid during the daytime, cutting expenditures on fossil fuels, and making privately funded clean energy available to all. The proposal also claims it will “protect consumer rights,” but solar customers are already protected by state and local building regulations, electrical codes, installer licensing, certified solar practitioners and state-sanctioned utility “interconnect” agreements.” (ballotpedia.org)
The Web of Dark Money… Exposed
Funding for the supposed community organization Consumers for Smart Solar all originates in the petroleum industry. Its sources are both open and covert, to give the appearance of independence.
If you are curious and have a strong stomach for the way our government is manipulated, this is a good read.
Special Interests Behind Anti-Solar Ballot Initiative Consumers for Smart Solar
What to do about it?
Urban Paradise Guild worked with Miami-Dade County to ban fracking at the county level. Now we have a series of actions planned to fight Amendment 1, and ban Fracking on a statewide level, working with both local partners, and a statewide coalition.
Info at www.urbanparadiseguild.org.
Get involved at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MXDW6FP
State-Wide Coalition info here: https://www.facebook.com/FLNoFrack/
Information Sources:
http://blog.cleanenergy.org/2016/09/21/florida-power-light-solar-leader-or-solar-laggard/
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/consumer/fl-fpl-solar-update-20150128-story.html
Nice analysis based on real data. Thanks!
Amy Ariale Lewis