Last week the NYT (June 10th “ A Stimulus Package With No Jobs”) bashed Florida saying that the state used stimulus funding to pay a backlog of solar rebate applications and that it did not create any green jobs. The Washington Examiner (June 14, 2010 “In Fla., ‘green jobs means no new jobs at all”) claimed that “Florida officials spent $8.3 million to give rebates on solar energy projects that were already finished. Needless to say, zero jobs were created or saved.” Both newspapers are grossly incorrect in their allegations.
The $8.3 million paid to people who had already installed solar, was indeed an economic driver for the solar industry in Florida and created an unprecented momentum for solar growth in Florida in 2009 and which continues in 2010. Use of these funds directly contributed to creating and retaining approximately 1032 jobs by providing a level of confidence in the solar rebate program that had been diminishing.
According to SEIA’s 2009 Solar Report, Florida ranked #3 in the nation by installing 36 MW in 2009. FP&L’s Desoto plant’s 25 MW is included in this number which means that Floridians installed 11MW of solar electricity in 2009, compared to a statewide cumulative total of only 3 MW up until 2009. The stimulus money paid for the rebate backlog for only 2MW but it created new green jobs by providing incentive and more importantly confidence to Floridians to continue to install an additional 9MW of solar after the $8.3 million had been allocated. According to NREL’s Jobs & Economic Development Impact Model 9MW of solar would create 1,167 jobs. I used my own rough calculations and divided 9MW among the 150 solar contracting firms in Florida which worked out to approximately 600 Full time Employees (FTEs) and 432 induced jobs. Both estimates exceeds the Executive Office of the President and Council of Economic Advisors estimate of $92,000 of direct government spending to create one job-year by nearly eleven fold. Wow! Way to go Florida.
The purpose of the ARRA is to grow renewables and stimulate the economy. By directing $8.3 million to pay a backlog of rebate applicants, Florida succeeded on both counts. The additional 9MW of solar installations pumped approximately $60 million back into Florida’s lagging economy from the private sector that paid the upfront cost for the solar installations with the expectation that they would receive a rebate check down the road.
Unlike other states that require pre-approval for a rebate before you install a system, the Florida law requires you to install your system and then apply for the rebate. Since 2006 there has always been an oversubscription for the allocated funding yet Floridians on the waiting list have always been paid in the following year. There was no reason to assume that this year would be different and that they would be left to hang out to dry. When Florida was told that $8.3 million would be infused into the existing solar rebate program the momentum for solar energy surged fast and furiously. Yes, Florida can and should be criticized on how poorly they have managed the rebate program since its inception, or for its gross lack of under funding each year, and for not providing accurate accountability of how much money remained in the solar rebate till, but the criticism directed at Florida by these two newspapers has nothing to do with the state rebate program’s failures, but specifically claims that the ARRA funding did not create jobs. WRONG!
Incentives drive solar installations. The 2010 legislature failed to pass a solar incentive package for homeowners and businesses which is unconscionable given the gulf oil disaster occurred 10 days before the close of the session. Lawmakers had the opportunity to pass a public benefits fund which would have paid those who are wait listed (currently estimated to be about $25 million) as well as provide a sustainable program for future solar installations. But they did nothing. How can Florida possibly call itself the Sunshine State when they are doing nothing to assist families with their energy independence?
Florida’s use of $8.3 million too pay solar rebates surpassed ARRA objectives by exceeding federal job creation estimates by 1100%, by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, by reducing GHG by 9,000 tones/year and by stimulating the state’s economy with over $60 million in private sector leveraged funds. If other ARRA programs have similar results, then there is hope for an economic recovery.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
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