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"gewg_" writes:

The Center for American Progress reports

Solar power could soon be flourishing [in] the Sunshine State. [On October 22,] the Florida Supreme Court approved [PDF] an initiative for the 2016 ballot that would allow Floridians to vote to reduce the state's restrictions on rooftop solar power.

Although solar is growing exponentially nationwide, it has not thrived in Florida. Florida is one of a handful of states that prohibit residents from purchasing electricity from a source other than an electric utility. This has locked out third-party solar rooftop companies, such as SolarCity and SunRun, which install rooftop solar panels on a customer's property at no cost and sell solar-generated power to that customer at a reduced electric rate.

As ThinkProgress previously reported, a coalition of solar advocates called Floridians for Solar Choice has been leading the effort to change this policy by pursuing a ballot initiative to permit third-party financing for rooftop solar by private companies. To get the initiative on the ballot, Florida required the coalition to first collect 68,314 voter signatures and then have the initiative language approved by the state Supreme Court.

On [October 22], the ballot initiative cleared this major hurdle when the Florida Supreme Court approved the "Solar Choice Amendment" for the November 2016 ballot. Advocates now have to collect the requisite 683,149 signatures to ensure the initiative goes on the ballot. It will then have to pass with 60 percent of the vote in 2016.

[...] In 2008, the Florida [Public Service Commission--the state body responsible for regulating electricity--]released a report saying that rooftop solar alone had the potential to generate nearly 100 times [the current 530 MW derived from renewables in Florida]. [PDF]

Meanwhile, "public servant" Pam Bondi, Florida's Attorney General, continues to fight on multiple fronts to block renewables.

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