Dive Brief:
- State and federal officials in Florida are calling on Duke Energy to invest more in clean energy.
- In a letter delivered to Duke Energy Florida President Alex Gleen, lawmakers expressed “support for clean energy" and urged Duke "to deepen its investment in energy efficiency and solar power in Florida.”
- Duke Energy spokesperson Nicole LeBeau said that the company had received the letter and would respond in due course.
Dive Insight:
This is part of a larger campaign by the Sierra Club. Karl Nurse, a city council member for St. Petersburg, said Duke Energy Florida is lagging behind the utility’s efforts to increase energy efficiency projects in other states. Officials said the letter wasn’t intended to reflect negatively on the utility; rather, it is intended to “empower us to do more to bring more energy efficiency and solar” to Florida, they said.
Currently, Florida ranks 16th in the U.S. for total number of solar installations, and 26 other states had better-performing energy efficiency programs than Florida. Lawmakers hope increasing energy efficiency efforts will help boost the state’s economy.
