Florida is truly the Sunshine State.
Historically, some of our most important industries have been built on what the sun provides – from the tourists seeking its warmth to the orange groves it nurtures.
But increasingly, that same sun is being used to power our lives in a more direct and consequential way: generating electricity that runs our homes, businesses and communities.
Floridians understand this.
By a wide margin, residents support the adoption of solar energy at every scale: residential rooftops, commercial installations and utility-scale farms.
That’s not surprising given the sun is Florida’s only homegrown energy source.
Everything else we burn to make power has to come from somewhere else.
Solar reduces Florida’s reliance on others
That point deserves more attention than it typically gets.
Every homeowner who puts solar on their roof reduces Florida’s reliance on imported energy, primarily natural gas piped in from outside the state.
And when demand for that imported fuel drops, so does its cost.
Solar adoption doesn’t just help the families who install it.
It also puts modest but real downward pressure on energy prices for everyone.
The same principle plays out on a global scale.
We live in a world where access to oil and gas shapes foreign policy and drives conflict.
American engagement with Venezuela and Iran, no matter your political read on those situations, has had real consequences for global energy markets and for prices at the pump.
Solar power is one of the few tools available to reduce that dependence in a tangible way.
Every rooftop that generates its own electricity is one less rooftop drawing on the global supply of fossil fuels.
Florida can lead on solar
The ripple effects extend to our roads as well.
Every mile driven using electricity is a mile that doesn’t consume gasoline or diesel.
That reduction in demand helps lower fuel costs for everyone, including drivers who haven’t made the switch to an electric vehicle (EV) yet.
The people investing in solar panels and EVs today are – in a quiet but real sense – subsidizing cheaper energy for their neighbors.
Florida has a genuine opportunity to lead.
The sun is more abundant here than nearly anywhere else in the country, and the technology to harness it has never been more affordable or accessible.
Choosing to embrace that opportunity will help secure our freedom and energy independence.
Through smart policy, fair market access and public investment, we can make our communities more resilient, reduce household costs and position Florida at the forefront of one of the most important transitions of our time.
The sun belongs to every Floridian.
The question is whether we use it to its full potential.
Bill Johnson is the president and founder of Brilliant Harvest LLC, which is based in Sarasota. He is the current president of the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association. This column is part of EcoBeat, a monthly series produced by the Science and Environment Council to bring leading Gulf Coast environmental voices directly to the public. Learn more at scienceandenvironment.org/ecobeat.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida is the Sunshine State. Let’s embrace solar power. | Opinion
Reporting by Bill Johnson, EcoBeat / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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By Bill Johnson, EcoBeat | USA TODAY Network
