clean energy

Updated June 15, 2020

ne of Florida’s newest laws lays the groundwork for building a vast network of electric vehicle charging stations along highways, part of a broader effort to improve the appeal of such environmentally cleaner cars and trucks.

A decade ago, if a Floridian wanted extra cash to replace a roof, install solar panels or a brand new air conditioner, the most common choice was a bank loan. But for the last few years, homeowners also have had a controversial new option.

Environmentalists rejoiced when city commissioners voted unanimously to power every home and business here with 100 percent clean energy by 2050. Two and a half years later city leaders say they still aren’t sure how they are going to do it.

Florida Power and Light announced Monday that it plans to build eight solar generators by early 2018. The plants will increase the company's solar capacity to nearly 1000 megawatts. 

The city of St. Petersburg will become the first city in Florida to completely transition to clean and renewable energy.

The city council voted unanimously on the decision which would generate electricity and power from sustainable sources like wind, water or solar with little to no pollution.

Mayor Rick Kriseman said was happy that his city was the first to do this and hopes other Florida cities do the same.

USF and its Patel College of Global Sustainability have made water one of their priorities through research into such efforts as turning wastewater into a clean, usable product or the rapid detection of contaminants.

Now that work is getting the attention of the federal government, which in turn could lead to a new stream of revenue for the University.

This week's University Beat report on WUSF Public Media takes you along as Nancy Stoner, Acting Assistant Administrator of water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, tours laboratories at USF’s Tampa and Lakeland campuses to see the research firsthand.

Work by USF researchers into what Nancy Stoner calls "real-world problems" -- like detecting contaminated water supplies and turning wastewater into useable clean water and energy -- brought the Environmental Protection Agency official to the University Wednesday.

Stoner, the EPA's Acting Assistant Administrator for Water, visited the Patel College of Global Sustainability and a trio of labs at the Tampa and Lakeland campuses.