Business owners see a future in clean energy

TAMPA — Some say the way out of the economic slump is through the field of green.

Helda Rodriguez, president of NovaCharge LLC of Tampa, and Mo Eppley, owner of MityMo Design LLC of St. Petersburg, discussed the perceived economic benefits of clean energy when they visited the Washington offices of Sens. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and George LeMieux, R-Fla. in late March.

Green industries could create high-paying jobs, but this won’t happen unless clean energy mandates get people moving, said Rodriguez, whose company distributes electric vehicle charging infrastructure to cities, municipalities and corporations.

Eppley and Rodriguez were among 37 people representing 12 states who participated in a “Fly In” March 24-26 organized and sponsored by Repower America, a campaign of the Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonprofit founded in 2006 by Al Gore.

The goal of the “Fly In” was to let senators know that clean energy is important to their constituents, said Repower America State Director Lance Orchid, who is based in St. Petersburg.

Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., expect to complete a climate bill next month.

While its specifics aren’t yet available, Orchid said climate legislation could be a signal to investors that the United States is moving toward clean energy and measures enacted could help businesses stabilize energy budgets.

Most people want to breathe clean air and drive a vehicle without spending a lot of money on gas, Rodriguez said.

“The common sense portion of it, I don’t think anyone will disagree with,” Rodriguez said. “How to get there, we won’t know until we see the details of the bill.”

Next on the agenda?

After the bill drops, it has to go through the Environmental Protection Agency and Congressional Budget Office.

The hope is for the bill to make it to the senate before election season, Eppley said.

“Because of everything going on with the health care bill, it was perfect timing for us to go,” Eppley said. “We could say, ‘Since you are done with health care, this is what needs to come next.’”

MityMo Design works with several startups that could benefit from the attention and investment that climate legislation could generate.

It’s time to move Florida from a service-based economy to a green economy, and the legislation could help, Eppley said.

Lee Stefanakos, director of the Clean Energy Research Center at the University of South Florida, said incentives for energy efficiency and solar energy would be at the top of his list for a climate bill. Energy efficiency in buildings, both residential and commercial, and energy efficiency in transportation, including the use of electric cars, are the likely first steps to a clean energy economy.

The next step would be the production of energy, including solar thermal water heating and photovoltaic technology, he said.

“It would generate a lot of business, especially if they make sure the manufacturing is taking place in Florida,” Stefanakos said.