Dive Brief:
- Advocacy groups in Florida on both sides of the state's battle over solar market rules are putting the hard sell on voters, but the Orlando Sentinel reports similar names have caused confusion.
- Floridians for Solar Choice and another group, Consumers for Smart Solar, are backing competing ballot measures for the 2016 election but their similar-sounding names have reportedly confused some who signed petitions.
- But Sentinel business columnist Beth Kassab pinpoints another possible reason for the confusion: a boring topic. Solar policy is less interesting than watching paint dry, she writes.
Dive Insight:
Two groups in Florida are pushing for competing ballot measures, and their similar names have reportedly caused confusion among some who wind up signing their petitions. Smart Solar's petition would change state law to allow residents to sell their generation to the state’s utilities and would guarantee there will be no cost-shift to non-solar owners. The Solar Choice group would allow for third party sales of electricity, authorizing solar owners to sell up to 2 MW of power per day to customers on the same or neighboring properties.
Floridians for Solar Choice is backed by installers, while the large utilities are backing Smart Solar.
Sentinel columbist Kassab reports a growing number of people may have signed the wrong petition, though so far it appears the confusion is limited to less than a half dozen residents. While she implies Smart Solar may have chosen its name in order to confuse the issue, she proposes another less-nefarious possibility as well: "A wonky topic."
"There are few subjects that are less interesting than watching paint dry. One of them is debating how solar energy is regulated in Florida," Kassab writes.
