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BULK OF FPL MONEY FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY GOES TO START-UP COSTS

0 Comments | Palm Beach Post, Jun 21, 2008 | by CHRISTINE STAPLETON

Most of the money that Florida Power & Light Co. collected from customers to develop alternative energy sources has not been used for that purpose, a state audit has found.

The bulk of the $9.5 million raised in FPL’s Sunshine Energy Program between 2004 and 2007 was paid to a contractor in Texas for salaries, office expenses, business travel, research, marketing and a public relations consultant to administer the program, according to the audit findings. Auditors estimated that the contractor, Green Mountain, has spent about $2.2 million — 25.9 percent — to purchase and develop renewable energy.

“The costs for a start-up program are always more than for an existing program, and they tend to decrease over time,” according to an e-mail response from FPL. By 2015, the company estimates that half the Sunshine Energy Program money will be used to purchase and develop renewable energy.

The state had sealed the results of the audit at FPL’s request last month, but FPL released the report this week with only a handful of sentences blacked out.

For years, FPL has marketed the program as a way for customers to help develop solar projects in Florida. FPL’s Web site tells customers that by enrolling in the program “you are helping to make the construction of new solar projects a reality … right here in Florida.”

The program pledges to develop 150 kilowatts of solar energy in Florida for every 10,000 subscribers and buy 1,000 kilowatt hours of renewable energy credits for every subscriber, every month.

The Public Service Commission’s probe of the program began in September with requests to the company for documents and explanations
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